“We see our safety scan as the
solution to that.”
The scan will deliver one of two
conclusions to each test – a pass or
a refer.
“If it’s a ‘refer,’ this is where each
company’s human resources policy
kicks in,” Roberts said. “Whatever
policy they have developed to deal
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with that is what we suggest they
use with our system. And the great
benefit with our system is that it
is objective. It’s not judgemental
and it doesn’t indicate what might
be the reason for the impairment.
It will flag an impairment, but it
doesn’t identify what you might be
impaired from.”
Though Roberts says in most cases
of a refer test, a company’s next step
is likely a drug test. But random drug
tests have not been found to be acceptable
unless there has been an accident
or an incident or unless there’s a reasonable
cause.
Look no further than the saga at
Suncor, which has been taken to the
Supreme Court of Canada. Suncor
and the local union have been fighting
over random drug testing since
the company introduced it in 2012.
The union has argued the practice is
degrading and violates the rights and
privacy of workers.
Suncor argued there are drug and
safety issues at its oilsands sites in
northern Alberta, and that random
testing is a suitable deterrence. Two
appeal judges agreed there was a safety
issue but said random testing would
reach no more than 104 employees
per month.
Marijuana is one of the most common
recreational drugs, and it may
become even more popular once it is
legalized in Canada. That’s when the
lines of worker privacy and employer
rights may become hazy.
It’s no secret that marijuana is
used in a variety of therapeutic means
– it reduces pain in muscles and joints,
helps with nausea in chemotherapy
treatments and improves sleep,
among others.
“When it becomes legal, we might
not have a huge spike of people showing
up to work impaired, but there
might be a shift in societal expectation
of cannabis use,” explained
Jon Danyliw, an associate for Miller
Thomson law firm in Saskatoon.
Companies are encouraged to
update or implement their policies
related to this issue. Difficult conversations
may arise between employer and
employee over the use of marijuana.
“It’s the employee’s wellbeing
and safety that’s important here,” said
Danyliw. “It’s not to find ways to
punish employees, though discipline
may result.” n
This article originally appeared in
Think BIG, the official publication of
the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction
Association. It is reprinted here
with permission.
F E AT U R E
Employers, especially those in the construction
industry, are using SafetyScan to help
determine whether employees are fit to
carry out their expected duties on the job.
52 ALBERTA HEAVY 2018
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