The NLRB says sending a worker for a drug test is the same as disciplinary action and the worker gets to be accompanied by a Union representative. In a recent case, a delivery worker had an workplace accident and, the next day, came to work with glassy, bloodshot eye and “reek[ing] of the smell of marijuana.” The boss demanded that he take a drug test. The worker refused because he could not locate a union steward to accompany him. The company fired him for refusing. The NLRB ruled that the worker had the right to union representation, and that firing him for those circumstances violated his rights to union representation. Therefore, his termination for refusing to take the test also violated his rights under the NLRA. Employers will have to update their drug testing procedures and account for this additional delaying tactic.

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