Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Drug policies can be tricky because there is a very fine line that separates an employer's right to maintain a drug free work environment and an employee's right to privacy. All employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy but what is reasonable can vary depending upon many factors, such as the nature of the business, the nature of their job, etc.

There are many aspects to consider but to address your question, I think you would be going too far to require employees to allow company representatives to be able to search an employee's pockets, vehicles or purses, as those items are far more likely to pass the reasonable expectation of privacy test under almost any situation, unless there was an eye witness to criminal activity. Even then, you run the risk of being sued.

Company property is less likely to be considered private but you would still have to be careful with lockers and desks assigned to specific employees. Appropriate notices that such areas may be searched would be needed.

This is an area where it would serve your company well to hire an employer side attorney to advise you on drafting the best drug policy for your company, to minimize the likelihood of a lawsuit.

At risk of litigation. Have ALL your policies written by experienced counsel, or don't do it at all. If serious about doing this correctly, feel free to contact me.