TDDA
The truth about oral fluid testing
T
here is a lot of misinformation about oral fluid testing. I’m going to talk about three court cases that could help trucking businesses understand what it is, and ensure they stay compliant, keep employees safe, and keep fleets rolling.
Oral fluid testing can replace urine testing (Endeavour Energy vs CEPU and Ors)
In this 2020 decision, the Australian Fair Work Commission (FWC) ruled that the detection of cannabis and other drugs could not be reliably addressed with only oral fluid testing. It noted complete reliance on oral fluid testing could mean a person going undetected as a regular user of drugs, especially cannabis.
Oral fluid testing is better at testing for “P” (Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union vs BM Alliance Coal)
BM Alliance won the right to use urine testing in the Supreme Court of Australia. It deemed oral fluid sampling inadequate to detect methamphetamine use. This is critical, considering the prevalence of “P” in New Zealand. Depending on the drug taken, oral fluid testing also provides less accurate results and tests for fewer substances. It is poor at identifying cannabis, “P”, benzodiazepines, and synthetic substances. Urine testing reliably tests for all these and more.
Employees should choose their testing method, and businesses should focus on impairment (Arnott’s Biscuits Ltd vs United Voice) Arnott’s introduced a new drug and alcohol policy that relied on urinalysis and was served a lawsuit. The FWC ruled that choosing the testing method “is a reasonable exercise of an employer’s right to manage its business…” It further added that identifying chronic, regular drug use fits within the purview of an employer’s health and safety requirements. When it comes to keeping people safe, businesses can choose the method of testing and more reliable testing measures – such as urine testing – and consider chronic drug use a health and safety issue. Shifting drug testing to only oral fluid testing does not keep workplaces safe, and here’s the big takeaway for trucking companies – if you want to keep people safe, urinalysis or a blended testing programme are your only choices. TDDA is a drug and alcohol workplace testing leader with more than 65 locations throughout Australasia. Visit tdda.com
Kirk Hardy, CEO, TDDA.
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