Tests showed worker had double the concentration limit allowed by drug and alcohol policy
Jan 29, 2025
“An arbitrator is going to need evidence of impairment to uphold termination for a failed post-incident drug test, so when incidents happen, the people observing must ask questions about whether there are any signs of impairment - and you may need expert evidence on impairment.”
So says Jackie Laviolette, a labour and employment lawyer at Mathews Dinsdale in Calgary, after an arbitrator overturned an Alberta worker’s termination for a post-incident drug test.
CST Canada Coal operates a coal mine near Grande Cache, Alta. The worker joined CST as a heavy equipment operator in November 2022, driving haul trucks - massive trucks capable of hauling up to 100 tons of coal and rock. The mine had many steep ramps upon which trucks had to travel.
Given the dangerous nature of the coal mine, CST had a drug and alcohol policy requiring employees to report fit to work and without an alcohol or drug level in their system above the concentration limits specified. For THC – the psychoactive element in cannabis - the policy set a cut-off limit of two nanograms per millilitre (ng/ml) in oral fluid drug tests. The policy stated that a positive drug or alcohol test “may be just cause for termination.”
The concentration limits were based upon the “Canadian Model for Providing a Safe Workplace,” and standards created by the Construction Owners Association of Alberta. It was reviewed with the...
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