A full Federal Court has confirmed that an employer had the right to terminate the employment of a worker who violated its zero-tolerance policy on drugs and alcohol, despite the lack of evidence that the breach led to a ferry accident nearly two years ago.
If you’re a patient with a legal prescription for opioids and you’re in the habit of sharing your pills with a friend or relative who complains of a bad headache or any type of pain, then you are actually committing a felony in the United States. At least that’s what an article written by Jing Cao for Bloomberg is saying.
Australia is an awesome country, and there are a lot of things that Aussies can be proud of. This, however, certainly would not be one of them. The United Nations has released its 2014 World Drug Report, revealing Australia to be the top recreational drug-using country in the entire world in 2014.
A new study has found out that prescription painkillers are to blame for the higher death rates among white women in the United States, according to an article written by Danielle Paquette for The Washington Post. (more…)
If you’re a worker who has sustained injuries while at work and later becomes unable to perform light duties due to substance abuse, don’t expect the Supreme Court to side with you when you ask for workers’ compensation. A substance abuser from South Australia learned this the hard way when his bid for workers’ compensation was dismissed 2-1 by the Supreme Court in 2010.
Australia has a very distinct drinking culture, and it is not unexpected for that culture to spill over into the workplace. We all know, however, how detrimental alcohol can be to everyone in a place of business. When someone is consuming alcohol, the health and safety of everyone in the workplace may become compromised. Accidents resulting in injuries or death could happen, or the aggressive behaviour or the loss of inhibition that alcohol triggers could put people in rather compromising situations as the whole workforce looks on.
So what should Australian employers do to address alcohol abuse issues in the workplace?
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Many employers have already realised how important it is to establish a drug-safe workplace policy, and have taken measures to get one developed and implemented the soonest possible time. What many employers have not realised, however, is that one company’s drug-safe workplace policy might not be applicable to another. To create a successful drug-safe workplace policy, there are factors that need to be taken into consideration first. Here is a list to help you get started.
Can substance abuse, supposedly brought about by serious injuries sustained in a workplace accident more than a decade ago, still be enough grounds for an additional workers’ compensation claim? A ruling on one such case by the Federal Court of Australia seems to suggest that it could be.