Random drug screens on the clock?

lorrie

We perform pre-employment and random drug screens for DOT drivers and our warehouse employees.

Applicants are not paid for their time for pre-employment drug screens, and results are required prior to ever being put on the clock.

Employees are currently on the clock for the random screens, which are performed at a medical facility off-site. (The facility is only about a mile or so away.)

Our company owner wants to stop paying employees for the time they are away getting screened. I think the right thing to do is to continue to pay for their time when they come up on random. (Which in our company is truly random.)

What I am looking for are the LEGAL reasons that can help me justify why we should continue to keep all employees on the clock when they go for a random drug screen. What do other companies do? And are you aware of any legal reasons?

Thank you for your help!

Shadowfax

You pay it because the ARE on the clock. They are not doing it for their own benefit. It is a requirement of the ER (via the Feds) and if you don't have to pay, then the EE is presumab ly free to leave. At least that's my take on it.

Don D

The legal reason, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act, is that it is an activity whose attendance is required by the employer as a condition of employment. It is a company function/activity, whether collective or individual attendance and participation is required; therefore, it is compensable.

Leslie

They are on the clock - it's a mandatory test.
Our random's are run on site. Once people come to HR they can't leave until they provide a sample. Say, someone (as happens) can't go for two hours. They sit up here, twiddle their thumbs, and get paid for two hours.

pork1

BEST REASON OF ALL IS: GOOD EMPLOYER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONS. The employee is on the clock when we do any testing, regardless of the classification and location of the physician's office. Pre-employment is accomplished as the 1st phase of the enrollment process. W/C testing is done during the initial visit with our retained physician as a part of his examination of the W/C injury. Want to, Need to, or Cause to testing is accomplished while the employee is still on the clock and a manager can issue a legal order to the employee to provide the company with a urine sample for testing. We can not issue a legal order for urine sample testing unless they are on our clock! If one is not on your clock, then one must assume they are not under your jurisdication for positive drug test results!!!

Your boss is wrong, unless you own them 25 hours a day and 8 days a week, you should have them always on the clock. If not on the clock, then HIPAA might prevent you from having medical information, which belongs to the employee and the physicians office. Why even attempt to put the testing system and positive result at risk. The money spent will be well worth the price of testing and on the clock time spent for collection.

Hope this helps!

PORK