December 19, 2006 12:30 p.m. EST

Playback: Thursday, December 21, 3:30 - 5pm

Matthew Certosimo

Employer Counsel
Borden Ladner Gervais

Anne Gregory

Union Counsel
Canadian Union of Public Employees

Rhonda Shirreff

Management Counsel
Heenan Blaikie LLP

Patrick Nugent

Union Counsel
Chivers Carpenter

• In what circumstances is drug and alcohol testing permitted at the pre-employment stage? During employment? If testing can be instituted, must it be accompanied by accommodative measures such as establishment of an Employee Assistance Plan?
• When can employers institute random drug and alcohol testing in the workplace? In safety-sensitive industries? For safety-sensitive positions? In sectors involving transportation of goods to the U.S.? Must the employer demonstrate a serious problem that warrants random testing?
• When does drug or alcohol addiction justify discipline? What is the appropriate response where an employee tests positive? When does drug or alcohol addiction, or failure to pass a test, require accommodation? Is zero tolerance a valid approach to drug or alcohol use? When can/must post-discharge evidence (e.g. of relapse or rehabilitation) be taken into account?
• How does the way arbitrators approach alcohol testing differ from their approach to drug testing? What accounts for the difference?
• Is casual off-duty consumption of drugs or alcohol a legitimate concern of the employer sufficient to justify testing and discipline? Can employees be disciplined for smelling of booze despite lack of evidence of actual impairment?
• Is there an obligation to accommodate if the employer doesn’t know and the employee doesn’t tell the employer that he/she has a disability? If the employer has reason to suspect that the employee has a disability?
• Are employees obligated to disclose a drug or alcohol addiction? Can employers institute a workplace drug or alcohol policy that requires mandatory self-disclosure?
• Must an employer accommodate employees who deny having an addiction and refuse to recognize its effect on their work? What approach should employers take to relapses? Do relapses have to be accommodated?

$195, plus GST (Registrations must be paid in advance of the audio conference). Registration costs are per listening site/telephone, so you can have any number of people listening at your location for one low price. Click here for registration information.