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Employee testing: An ethical perspective

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Abstract

This paper deals with the conflict between the desire of an employer to test employees for honesty and chemical dependency, and the right of the employee to privacy. Not only is the physical privacy of the employee infringed upon, but the psychic privacy of the individual as well. It is the conclusion of the paper that such an invasion of privacy is not justified without serious and compelling reason, and not the mere chance that testing will reveal problems among some percentage of the tested persons.

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References

Cases

  • Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 85 S.Ct. 1678 (1965).

  • Stanley v. Georgia, 394 U.S. 557, 89 S.Ct. 1243 (1969).

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Statutes

  • Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a (1974).

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  • ‘Scientist Reveals Blacks Who Fail Marijuana Tests Could Prove Drug Free’, Jet, May 19, 1986, at 10–11.

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  • Takas, ‘They Want Your Body: Can Your Boss Test You for Drug Use?’, Vogue, April, 1986 at 156.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Accounting and Finance, Radford University, P.O. Box 5755, 24141, Radford, VA, USA

    Dan Davidson

Authors
  1. Dan Davidson
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Additional information

Dan Davidson is Professor of Business Law at Radford University in Virginia. He has five teaching awards, including ‘Razorback Outstanding Business Faculty’ Award, University of Arkansas. He is the author of four textbooks published by Kent Publishing Co., and his articles have been published in the Education Forum, Journal of Insurance Issues and Practices, and the Business Law Review, among others.

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Davidson, D. Employee testing: An ethical perspective. J Bus Ethics 7, 211–217 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381870

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381870

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