What is my recourse if terminated for a false drug test

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What is my recourse if terminated for a false drug test

I was offered employment after being a contract worker for 2 years. Completed a
drug screening, which came back positive for amphetamines. I do not take
amphetamines. When asked I advised of the vitamins, the otc nexium that I had
taken that morning prior to testing. I had been sick and was taking an OTC cold
medication at night. Would this cause my test to come back false positive? Also
when I took the test the nurse did not inform me that I was signing off on being
able to contest the positive testing results. I was told the day of termination
that if I could not submit 45 ml that they could not perform a split test and
that I signed off my right to contest because I only submitted 30 ml. I was not
made aware that was what I was signing. Do I have any recourse and were do I go
from here. I have never been terminated from a job or had a positive drug screen.

Asked on May 23, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Arizona

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

First, you are held to what you signed--if you don't understand it, take the time to read it or else ask for clarification *before* you sign. If you sign something, the law presumes that you read, understood and agreed to it. So you can held to what you signed, even if you were "not made aware" of "what I was signing," since it was your obligation to make sure that you knew what you were signing.
Second, this was not a "false" drug test: positive test results came back. Even if you contend they were wrong, the employer acted (i.e. terminated you) based on the information it had, which it is allowed to do.
Third, unless you had a signed written employment contract preventing your termination at this time or for this reason, you were an employee at will. To put it bluntly, an employee at will has no rights to his or her job and may be terminated at any time, for any reason--including drug test results.
Based on what you write, you appear to not have any recourse.


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