Employers with Drivers Operating in the U.S. Take Note: New U.S. Drug and Alcohol Testing Rule in Force January 6, 2020

On January 6, 2020, Canadian employers who have commercial drivers operating in the United States will be required to comply with the requirements under the new Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse program. Clearinghouse is administered by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

Appellate Court Issues Favourable Decision for Suncor on its Random Drug and Alcohol Policy

The legal saga on the issue of random drug and alcohol testing of employees continues. In Suncor Energy Inc v Unifor Local 707A, the Alberta Court of Appeal sent the issue of whether Suncor’s random drug and alcohol testing policy violated the privacy rights of its unionized workers back to a new arbitration hearing before…

Supreme Court of Canada Confirms Termination of Disabled Employee Not a Breach of Human Rights

In Stewart v. Elk Valley Coal Corp., the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a decision of the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal (Tribunal) which concluded that an employee who had a cocaine addiction was not dismissed because of that addiction; rather, he was dismissed for breaching his employer’s Alcohol, Illegal Drugs & Medical Policy (Policy)…

Divisional Court Finds Arbitrator’s Approach to Pre-Access Drug and Alcohol Testing Reasonable

The Divisional Court has dismissed a judicial review application of an arbitration decision that held that pre-access drug and alcohol testing was contrary to the parties’ collective agreement and the Ontario Human Rights Code. While the Court declined to comment on the Code, it upheld Arbitrator Surdykowski’s finding that the applicant had violated the collective…

ECHO Publishes an Article by Michelle Alton and Thomas Agnew

An article by Hicks Morley’s Michelle Alton and Thomas Agnew was published in the Summer 2013 edition of ECHO, an Ontario Municipal Human Resources Association Newsletter. In the article entitled, “Drug and alcohol testing: How far can an employer go?”, Michelle and Thomas discuss the implications of the decision in Irving Pulp & Paper.  They advise the…

The Supreme Court of Canada Strikes Down Random Alcohol Testing Policy

On June 14, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Local 30 v. Irving Pulp & Paper Ltd. In this much anticipated decision, the Supreme Court clarified the law regarding random alcohol and drug testing in safety-sensitive, unionized workplaces, finding that universal random testing will…