Peeing into a Cup
On September 16 the Ontario Human Rights Commission decided that
random drug tests and screening as a condition of employment was illegal
. The Commission ruled that there isn't a sufficient link between the tests
and job performance, as drugs can remain in the body for several days after
the glow has worn off.
The case involved Imperial Oil's alcohol and drug-testing policy, one
of the most stringent in Canada. They started making their employees piss into
cups after the Exxon-Valdez spill, presumably to help keep them from
illuminating themselves to what their employer is doing to the planet.
Imperial Oil is going to appeal, and has vowed to continue sampling
the piss from its approximately 7,500 employees for as long as it can.
This is the first time a provincial human rights commission has looked at
whether drug testing programs violate human rights. Although the ruling
does not apply to other provinces, nor to federally regulated industries such
as banking and transportation, it will undoubtedly be read by the federal
Canadian Human Rights Commission, which is taking a second look at a
decision they made to allow Toronto Dominion to randomly test their
employees urine.
Two years ago the Commission decided that the TD drug testing program
was constitutional because employees accepted it as a condition of
employment. The Federal Court of Canada disagreed on appeal, and
ordered the federal Human Rights Commission to take another look at the
question.
Toronto Dominion is the only Canadian bank to sample their employees pee. If
you have an account there please close it, and make sure that you tell them
why! If you use email, send them a nasty note at
greeninfoline@tdbank.ca
, or attack their website at www.tdbank.ca.
~ Bianca Sind
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