Reference no: EM133519284

Case Study: You are the Manager of HR for a large pipeline company in Canada (federally regulated), that was bought out last month by a large U.S. parent company. The new American CEO just arrived in your Toronto headquarters and has summoned you to his office.

The CEO informs you that, in Texas, they run a lean, mean machine and he expects his new Canadian branch to follow suit. Halfway through his listing of the changes he thinks you ought to make, he announces firmly that all employees must undergo pre-employment drug and alcohol testing (in addition to testing at other times during employment). The CEO looks at you and emphasizes that everyone needs to be tested, even the new payroll analyst you are trying to hire. He notes that Canadians are too "soft" and operations will be much more efficient if we weed out people who are a risk to the company right from the beginning. After saying the word "weed" he smiles and notes that the legalization of cannabis doesn't change the fact that no one should have drugs in their system when they are hired. He is just in the middle of explaining how he, as CEO, personally reviews the results of each drug and alcohol test. Then, he glances at his watch and realizes that he is late to another meeting and has to run. You smile, indicate that you will schedule a longer meeting with him in the calendar for the next day, and the drug and alcohol testing can be discussed at that time.

As he is running out of your office, the CEO turns back to you and notes that the pre-employment screening can also be used to make sure you aren't hiring any pregnant women, as the Canadian maternity leave seems ridiculously liberal and a pain for employers.

QUESTIONS:

• Is pre-employment drug and alcohol testing appropriate as described by the CEO? In answering this, consider both human rights and privacy principles discussed in this chapter. The questions below will help frame your response.
• Should the analyst you want to hire have to take a pre-employment drug and alcohol test? Would your opinion change if you were hiring a pipe welder who deals with dangerous equipment?
• If a potential employee did test positive for alcohol during a pre-employment test, what would be an appropriate response? Remember to consider the requirements of BFOR and reasonable accom-modation.
• If the potential employee who wasn't hired because of the failed test filed a human rights complaint, based on the material presented in this chapter, do you think the human rights commission would support the applicant's claim of discrimination? Provide your rationale
• Is it appropriate to also test for pregnancy?
• What information should HR receive? What information is necessary? Should the CEO see the test results?
• Based on all the answers to the questions above, how are you going to prepare for your conversation with the CEO tomorrow?