Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

This study of 200 drug use-related labor arbitration awards published between 1986-2003 examines a number of variables in these cases, among them the scope of the employer’s drug use policies, whether the employer discharged the grievant or imposed lesser discipline, and whether the employer’s response to drug abuse was upheld, overturned or modified in arbitration. The findings in this study are compared with those in an earlier study of drug use-related awards.

Drug use, whether inside or outside the workplace, raises a host of concerns from an employer’s point of view, including deteriorating job performance, loss of quality control, tardiness and absenteeism, poor morale, safety concerns, the possibility of personal injury to the employee or others, property damage, increased insurance costs, theft, and the cost of replacing employees discharged for drug use and training new  employees.1 To combat employee drug use, many employers have drug use policies, some of which involve drug testing.