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Can you say no if your employer wants to drug test you?

Posted Wed, October 2nd 2019 / Latest News / 0 comments

There is a push in the Tasmanian capital of Hobart for mandatory drug testing for elected local representatives. The Hobart City Council would be the second in the state whose councillors could face regular tests to see whether they've been using illicit substances. It is the latest in a series of recent campaigns for certain groups to be subjected to testing, including welfare recipients and federal politicians. But they would be joining a large percentage of Australians for whom drug testing has become a part of life. So, how do the tests work and can you say no?

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Facts About Workplace Drug Testing

Posted Wed, October 31st 2018 / Breathalyser Blog / 0 comments

Drug testing is sometimes misrepresented as being unnecessary or intrusive, especially as drugs like marijuana are aggressively promoted as “safe.” However, the purpose of drug testing is not to penalise job seekers or current employees working in sectors that require regular testing for safety. The goal of drug testing is to help establish and advocate for a healthy, safe work environment.

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Opioid Crisis

Posted Fri, February 2nd 2018 / Latest News / 0 comments

In the USA, 174 lives are lost every day to opioid abuse. Could these frightening stats be similar in Australia? The banning of codeine in Australia this week is the first step to reducing the harm this crisis is reaping.

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Mining Industry Breathalyzers

Posted Mon, December 4th 2017 / Breathalyser Blog, Latest News / 0 comments

It is estimated that 5 - 10 percent of workplace deaths, and 10 percent of workplace injuries are due to drug or alcohol and may have been prevented if the subject was tested using a mining industry breathalyzer or drug test kit. These alarming figures are the reason why alcohol and drug related problems cost more than $3.5 billion per year, not to mention the significant lost productivity and absenteeism.

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Marijuana Drug Test Screening

Posted Wed, October 25th 2017 / Breathalyser Blog, Latest News / 0 comments

Medical marijuana and testing in the workplace - Can it co-exist? Simply stated, currently there are currently no prohibitions on testing workers for marijuana. A clearly written drug testing policy that complies with current local and federal laws remains paramount. The policy should detail who is tested, what drug test specimen type is used, and the consequences of a violation. So employers, stay informed about marijuana issues such as legislation, trends in use, and testing technology in your efforts to maintain a safe, healthy, drug-free workplace.

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Employee Safety & Drug Testing in the Workplace

Posted Tue, July 18th 2017 / Breathalyser Blog, Latest News / 0 comments

Workplace drug testing is a hot topic of discussion in employment and legal issues. Despite the concerns about employee privacy raised by various worker and civil rights groups, workplace drug testing has increased by 277% since 1987. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) estimates that drug and alcohol abuse costs employers approximately $87 billion annually in lost time, accidents, health care, and workers compensation. To further put this into perspective, nearly 65% of all workplace accidents are drug and alcohol-related, and 40% of on-site injuries are caused by substance users.

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Random Breath Testing

Random Breath Testing

Posted Mon, March 13th 2017 / Breathalyser Blog, Latest News / 0 comments

In Australia, various state and federal policing agencies conduct random breath testing (RBT) operations of drivers operating motor vehciles. These include motorcycles, cars, turcks, buses, taxis and any other type of vehicle that drives on our roads. Blood alcohol concentration limits vary, as do the penalties for each type of drivers licence holder.

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Drink Driving

Posted Sun, March 12th 2017 / Breathalyser Blog, Latest News / 0 comments

While current media attention has been drawn towards alcohol fuelled violence on our cities streets, some may argue that the real hidden issue is that of underage drinking and the criminal behaviour of drink driving. Statistics show that young people who begin their association with alcohol by underage drinking are more likely to get into trouble for drink driving than those who do not get a taste for alcohol until they are older. Recent talkback radio discussion on the issue of underage drinking showed that the community is split between whether or not it is OK to allow children to commence underage drinking while being supervised at home.

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Women and Drink Driving

Posted Mon, January 16th 2017 / Breathalyser Blog / 0 comments

When you think of a drink-driver, what image springs to mind? Chances are, you didn't think of a woman...You may picture an aggressive boy racer, a middle-aged businessman who's had one too many when entertaining clients, or maybe just a regular guy who let himself be talked into another beer by his mates and ended up getting pulled over and losing his licence.

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Synthetic Cannabinoid Overdoses Spike in USA

Posted Tue, September 20th 2016 / Latest News / 0 comments

Synthetic cannabinoids (marijuana) have been problematic since variations of these substances were first identified in the U.S. in 2008. Recently, CNN reported that “the number of cases of poisoning from synthetic marijuana rose sharply in the past year.” These findings were released by the ToxIC Case Registry, a monitoring and research tool established by the American College of Medical Toxicology in 2010.

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Drug Testing at Work

Posted Thu, February 18th 2016 / Breathalyser Blog / 0 comments

Understanding Drug Testing at Work and Employee Rights - The bond between an employee and employer is a delicate one that involves trust, duty and responsibility. There are many grounds on which this relationship can suffer blows. But, breach of trust remains paramount. While most employees do believe and accept that some form of monitoring or surveillance on their actions is absolutely necessary, certain employee rights simply cannot be violated and certain lines must not be crossed.

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Statistics

Posted Thu, October 1st 2015 / Breathalyser Blog, Latest News / 0 comments

Drink driving is a significant factor in the road toll across most states. According to the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority’s 2007 crash data, 1947 accidents were alcohol-related. Every year about 18% of people killed on NSW roads had consumed alcohol, while alcohol is also implicated in about one-third of the annual fatalities of people aged between 17 and 24. In Victoria last year, 28% of all drivers and motorcyclists killed on the roads had a blood alcohol reading of 0.05 or more. (Choice Magazine September 2009).

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Workplace Alcohol and Drug Testing

Posted Thu, May 21st 2015 / Breathalyser Blog, Latest News / 0 comments

Employers often seek the right to be able to randomly test employees in an attempt to reduce the incidence of drunkenness and drug-effected employees in the workplace as part of the occupational health and safety policy. Workplace testing is part of a much wider strategy to modify employee behaviour with the result that employees don’t attend for work under the influence of alcohol.

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When is enough enough? Colorado company relocates to South Carolina because of marijuana use.

Posted Fri, May 15th 2015 / Breathalyser Blog, Latest News / 0 comments

A company that was not regulated by the state of Colorado or the Feds, elected to move their entire operation to South Carolina. The rationale was the employees were coming in "high" all the time and the quality of work was poor. The owner blames the poor worker performance on the Colorado laws that allow recreational pot use.

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