Browsing: Drugs and alcohol | Page 6

A worker claiming he accidentally ate cannabis cookies before failing a workplace drug test has failed to overturn his dismissal. He argued his employer unreasonably subjected him to the test when he wasn't displaying any behaviour or symptoms of intoxication or impairment.

A white-collar worker has unsuccessfully challenged her dismissal for refusing to provide a urine sample for a drug and alcohol test for "personal medical reasons", with a commission stressing that office-based staff aren't "immune" from drug-related injury risks.

Regulatory strategies aimed at curbing drug use, speeding and driving while fatigued in the heavy vehicle sector are doing little to address the systemic causes of this behaviour, highlighting the urgent need for an independent body empowered to eliminate unsafe economic practices, a Senate inquiry has found.

• How employers can control methamphetamine-use risks; and
  
• Reducing COVID risks through better workplace ventilation.

In an important ruling on out-of-hours conduct, the Fair Work Commission has ordered the reinstatement of a safety-critical worker who was sacked after he was caught drink driving with a blood alcohol concentration four times over the legal limit.

A worker who claims he failed a workplace breathalyser test because he had consumed medicated throat lozenges, and says he refused to undergo an earlier test because of COVID-19 concerns, has been denied an unfair dismissal remedy in the Fair Work Commission.

• False "white cards" breached workplace safety laws; and
  
• Workplace drug testing rules clarified in nationally agreed Bill.

An employer is not liable for a worker being urinated on by an intoxicated colleague, but companies do have a safety duty to protect personnel from "unpleasant" interactions in accommodation facilities, a superior court has found.

A major employer's proposed alcohol restrictions for remote locations are unlikely to endanger workers' mental health, but the company should consult with unions on alternative measures before implementing the rules, the Fair Work Commission has found.

A tribunal full bench has upheld an important finding that a worker did not engage in serious and wilful misconduct when he refused to undergo a surprise drug test while certified unfit for work.