How Drug Tests Affect Worker’s Compensation

In every state, it is a legal requirement that employers provide financial compensation to workers that are injured while on the job or at the worksite. That being said, there are a few factors that may influence the ability to collect such compensation or even disallow it. Under Florida law, if a workplace is certified as a drug-free workplace, worker’s compensation is not granted if the injured person is found to have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

A drug-free workplace is more than a catch phrase that employers like to use to describe their business. It is a legitimate certification that not only prohibits the usage of drugs and alcohol at the workplace. This means that an individual that fails a drug test, which may be randomly required of an employee at any time, could potentially be fired on the spot. This means that an employer could ask for a drug test even during the middle of a worker’s compensation filing.

This being said, failing a drug test does not necessarily nullify a worker’s compensation claim, even if the employee is terminated. Unless the drug test can prove that the injured employee was under the influence of such drugs at the time of the accident, that employee might still be able to receive compensation.

This doubt that is cast is relevant because employers often ask for drugs tests much later than right after the accident. In addition, the injured worker may later on by on prescribed pain medication that clouds the results of a drug test, yet is completely legitimate.

If you are injured in the workplace, it is best to consult with a lawyer to pursue all angles of a worker’s compensation case before admitting defeat. To learn about we at the Franco Law Firm can help win your case, please call us at (813) 872-0929.