Does Your Company’s Drug Test Include Nicotine?

A man is suing his former employer of just a few weeks, after being fired for failing a drug test.  What makes the situation unique, however, is the particular drug that was found in the employee’s system.  It was nicotine.

While some of the details still are emerging, it appears that the employer should prevail, as it appears that the employee was told that he would be tested for nicotine and that the successful drug test would be a condition of employment.  The inclusion of nicotine in a drug screen is not new, though.  Several years ago, health care company Weyco, Inc., terminated several employees who refused to take such tests.

As health care costs continue to rise, look for more and more employers to prohibit – even for out of the workplace situations – those activities, like smoking, that increase those costs even more.