Can I hire someone with an invalid result?

A recent case involving a major retail chain fired an Arizona employee for testing positive for marijuana despite the fact that they possessed a medical marijuana card and disclosed that information prior to taking a urinalysis. The company claimed that they were protected under the state’s Drug Testing of Employees Act, but the judge ruled that the company couldn’t prove if the employee was impaired at work. It’s advisable that employers do not terminate Arizona employees who hold a valid medical marijuana card based solely off of a positive marijuana drug test result. Companies’ should ensure that they provide employee education and reasonable suspicion training for managers, implement a medical disclosure policy, and establish a documentation process. If a terminated employee later sues for wrongful termination, this documentation and an established process, could be a deciding factor in your case.

Drug and alcohol testing helps identify alcohol and both prescription and illegal drugs in an individual’s body. Drug and alcohol testing is a common practice for employers for pre-employment, as well as random, reasonable suspicion, post-accident, return-to-duty, follow-up drug testing, etc. Drug and alcohol testing can be conducted through a variety of testing methodologies, including oral-fluid, urinalysis, and hair, each offering a different window of detection which is especially beneficial when combined with two or more testing methodologies.

An electronic Custody and Control Form, also known as an eCCF, is an electronic version of the traditional document used for drug test ordering, specimen collection processing, and chain of custody documentation for workplace drug testing. ECCFs offer additional benefits, such as speeding up turnaround times by up to 25% and preventing common user errors associated with paper forms.