Re: Can an employer make taking drugs a condition of employment?

On 28 Feb 2006 04:52:38 -0800, "AN O'Nymous"
<a_n_onymous80@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

With the development of drugs such as Modafinil, which help keep a
person awake & alert for longer without the feeling of being "wired up"
that caffeine/other stimulants cause, with no apparent major negative
side effects, can an employer make taking such stimulants part of one's
employment contract, explicitly stated or implied?

If some mostly minor side effects were known, could the employer still
make it part of the employment contract? After all, an aspiring
employee can refuse and thus not be employed, so they were clearly
consenting parties on the record.

Will the employer, under current law, be liable for any damages should
an employee take such stimulants, and then suffer side effects?

I know of some people who work for private sector companies where
long/odd hours are accepted as part of the conditions for employment.
It thus does not take a long stretch of imagination to conceive of a
situation where an employer might stipulate that long/odd hours are
part of the contract...and...being alert (through whatever means)
during those times are as well.

I cannot see it becoming a *condition* of employment in the private
sector. But it is quite possible that it is encouraged and regarded
as the norm in some industries.

Also, I have not seen employment contracts for the military, but
clearly taking stimulants is part of the job. In this case, how is this
necessity worded in the contract?

The military is a totally different kettle of fish, in that the people
who sign up are agreeing to have their lives deliberately put at risk
in all sorts of ways. I know that pilots in WWII were issued with
"purple heart" pills, and many became addicted to them. I do not
however believe that it was *mandatory* to take them.

IIUC military personell these days are required to submit to
injections of all sorts of drugs that protect against the effects of
chemical warfare agents (both their own chemicals and those that the
enemy may have).

--
Cynic

.

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