At cavnessHR, we deliver HR to companies with 49 or fewer people. Some things that we can do for you is basic HR compliance, employee handbooks, HR policies, job descriptions, also providing responsive HR advice.
So, these first series of videos I'm going to do for you is going to be based on our two-pager called HR Laws for Small Business, that breaks down the laws you have to follow from one to 49 employees. The first law we are going to cover today is the drug-free workplace act. You have to follow this if you have one employee. The drug-free workplace act is actually pretty vague. Bottom line up front, only thing that you have to do as a small business owner is make an ongoing, good-faith effort to maintain a drug-free policy, drug-free workplace.
What does that mean? Basically, a determination about what constitutes good-faith effort are made on a case-by-case basis. So, what may be a good-faith effort on one case might not be a good-faith effort on another case by a different company in a different situation. A lot of this is going to be pretty vague, and a lot of it is left up to the small business owner to decide what this means. For example, there's nothing that says you have to give drug tests to hire someone, or to give drug tests once a month, or to give drug tests to get people promoted. It says nothing about that in there.
One thing you do have to do, you need to publish and give a policy statement to all your employees, informing them that unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of a controlled substance is prohibited in the company workplace, and specify what action will be taken against the employee that violates the policy. Now, notice again, it doesn't say specifically what action you got to take. It's left up to the small business owner, you, to decide what that action is. You know, it could be letting them go from the position, giving them counseling, or whatever you think fits the situation.
You also need to establish a drug-free awareness program. That's going to make your employees aware of the dangers of drug abuse in the workplace. The policy of maintaining a drug-free workplace, and any available drug counseling, or rehab, or employee assistance programs you might offer. Once again that you might offer. It doesn't say you have to do it. If you have a federal contract, it does go in a little bit more detail. You're going to have to notify your employees that a condition of employment on the federal contract, the employee is going to have to abide by the terms of policy, and you have to notify the federal government within a certain number of days of a drug conviction.
So, once again, pretty vague. The example I use is this. Let's suppose you are the owner of a small donut shop, and this person's selling donuts. Now, you may or may not care if they're high on drugs or what the situation is. But some would say it does matter, some would say it doesn't matter if the person selling donuts is using drugs. But, if the person making the donuts is on drugs and they burn down your donut shop, then that's going to matter. So those situations, those are the decisions you have to make as a small business owner, and at cavnessHR, we can help you put together your HR policies to cover all these and other areas you need to be covered by.
Thank you for your time today. I really appreciate it and remember to be great every day.
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