I know this isn't really legalization but it's related to activism and the law so I figured some braniac here could help me out. I live in the state of Oregon, and I hurt my back on the job lifting some heavy equipment. The next day I went into doctors to get pain meds/muscle relaxers and they had me do a piss test and told me if I refuse than I would be denied. I hadn't smoked in 2 weeks or so and so I went for it. Just got a call today and I tested positive with 35ng per mL. From what I've gathered, this isn't very high at all(correct me if Im wrong.) However Im kind of in a cluster fuck, I have a family member that works for my employer and they are pretty high up on the food chain. And so im worried about more than just my job. Will my workers comp get denied and thats all? Or can my employer fire me as well? My asst. manager was working with me while I hurt myself and he is a witness I wasn't intoxicated. Basically Im looking for advice on what to do from here. I was planning on calling my manager and letting him know whats up(since the eScreen company is sending the test results to my employer anyways.) But feel free to set me on the right course. Thanks! -Soon To Be Jobless
Are you a medical patient? Are you part of a union? Those two questions will help out a lot. Honestly I wouldn't say anything to your manager unless asked, unless your close, for all you know it won't go anywhere up above, telling him now if he's not cool could spell trouble. Get a copy of your employers drug policy. Just note if it says intoxicated at the workplace , which you said you were not. At that point its a HR decision, unless your union which why I asked. Good luck .
35ng?? Just for reference, the CO and WA laws just set a DUI level of 5ng. Either their test is completely off, or you smoked much sooner than two weeks prior to your test. Were you high that day you took the test? That test would suggest as much at 35ng. So either the test is made up bullshit, or you smoked?? Do NOT talk to anyone at your company about it. It could only turn out badly for you. They may not have ANY actual proof against you if you in fact tested clean, and they could have a case against you if you call them and say, "yeah, I smoked a couple weeks ago." Do NOT do that. Make them work for it.
The DUI blood test and the piss test are different. DUI limit of 5 ng is active THC and the piss is metabolites of THC. The usual cutoff for the metabolites is 50 ng, but since it is a workers comp thing, they probably automatically ran GC-MS on the sample to get an accurate number.
I personally don't think you will lose your job, but you may be denied your workman's comp. Were you given a pre-employment screen?