In this article, I wanted to provide readers with a brief summary pertaining to Employee Drug Testing Laws in New Jersey.  For starters, New Jersey has no general or comprehensive law concerning drug testing of employees.  The state generally follows the federal guidelines on when drug tests can be conducted, although a New Jersey court ruling emphasized that drug testing in the workplace can only be conducted when there is reasonable suspicion of an individual (1988).

In speaking from experience, unfortunately we’ve dealt with drug testing first hand. A drug test was required for an in-house staff member with no prior history who showed signs of impaired work performance. This was not only a safety issue but a liability concern. Falling asleep on the job and walking unsteadily raised suspicions. Normally we wouldn’t have performed a drug test on an employee, but in the safety of the residents it was our concern to move forward. It was time for this person to be drug tested. The employee was required to go to a drug testing facility and within two weeks unfortunately, our suspicions were confirmed.

As office manger it’s my responsibility to make sure all in-house staffing follows company policy and safety procedures. It’s this type of policy for almost ten years, that has left us incident free with resident safety- our number one concern.