Companies often struggle to set regulations around their workers’ alcohol and drug usage. This is especially true for startups and tech organisations who provide alcohol on-site during work hours and do not consider drug usage to be inherently negative for company or productivity.
As a San Francisco-based employment attorney, I’ve seen it all, from founders wanting to encourage LSD use among marketing employees (pro tip: probably not the best idea from a liability standpoint) to CEOs wanting to ensure that all employees are drug tested on a regular basis and that they don’t consume alcohol at company events.
When designing their alcohol and drug-related employment practises, businesses should keep the following in mind:
Sure, you can let your workers drink a beer with lunch and do anything they want in their leisure time as long as they bring their A-game to work. However, a drug and alcohol policy that particularly allows for intoxication at work may be detrimental to the firm. What if, for example, an employee becomes inebriated at a work function and hits another employee? This occurred to one of my clients, and it ended up costing the firm a lot of money to resolve.
I often come across employee drug and alcohol policies that entirely exclude the usage of prescribed drugs. Prescription medicines, like any other drugs or alcohol, may, nevertheless, impair an employee’s ability to operate appropriately at work. If a corporation has no policy prohibiting prescription drug usage at work and an employee arrives at work while under the influence of prescription medications and is involved in an accident, the employer may be held accountable and/or obliged to defend a lawsuit brought by the employee and any accident victims.
Marijuana decriminalisation, legalisation, and medical usage are becoming more widespread throughout the nation. Many businesses ask me how altering marijuana laws influence their alcohol and drug-related policies, and the answer is that employers do not need to amend their policies, even with these new regulations in effect.
Why? Because marijuana users are not a protected class, even if they consume it for therapeutic reasons. Employers typically have the ability to fire workers who use marijuana after hours or on weekends.
Employers that want to establish such a policy, however, should consult with an employment attorney or HR practitioner. You’ll want to be sure that your policy does not discriminate against workers who may need marijuana for medical reasons.
Many businesses, particularly startups and technology firms, strive to foster a joyful and progressive work atmosphere. While this mentality works well for many businesses, organisations should, at the absolute least, ensure that their drug and alcohol policy compels workers to maintain professional behaviour while at work and sets out the repercussions if they do not.