Also known as: reasonable suspicion · good faith · objective suspicion · good faith exception
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard requiring that an employer's suspicion of employee drug use be both objectively reasonable and held in good faith before drug testing of current employees may be conducted without violating public policy.
North Garage's HR director Neil received reports of on-site impairment from coworkers about Daniel and Daisy. Neil rejected their explanations under a rigid internal policy without reviewing whether the reports supported a good-faith basis for suspicion of ongoing drug use. The court found that the employer failed to act on reasonable good faith objective suspicion when ordering the tests.
Radiance Media received reports of employee drug use on the loading dock. Its HR officer prepared only by reviewing public policies and ignored internal records that would have revealed conduct raising reasonable good faith objective suspicion of policy violations. The court ordered additional testing safeguards because the investigation did not reflect a good-faith effort to confirm individualized suspicion.
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Pinnacle Manufacturing's safety committee reviewed Frances's complaint alleging coworker drug use on the assembly line. The committee members had longstanding ties to the accused supervisor and conducted no interviews of employees who had raised concerns. The court held that the committee lacked reasonable good faith objective suspicion that testing was not justified.
A company lawyer received information suggesting employees might be using drugs before operating machinery. The lawyer advised the client on testing protocols after confirming the facts through independent verification rather than relying on the supervisor's self-serving statements. The advice was protected because it rested on reasonable good faith objective suspicion of potential issues rather than authorizing blanket tests.
An anonymous caller accurately predicted Roberto Reyes's future movements and described conduct consistent with on-site drug use. Supervisors verified the predicted actions before testing Reyes. The testing was upheld because the tip supplied reasonable good faith objective suspicion that policy violations were occurring.
Redwood Bank received reports of impairment from Rita Russell's coworkers after safety incidents. The bank ordered tests under an inflexible policy without evaluating whether the reports created reasonable good faith objective suspicion of ongoing drug use. The court found the bank violated its duty to act on individualized suspicion before testing.
The standard requires both that the employer's suspicion be objectively reasonable based on specific facts and that the employer hold the suspicion in good faith rather than as a pretext. Testing without meeting this standard can violate public policy.
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The standard applies to current employees. Drug testing of all applicants is generally lawful without individualized suspicion.
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Even in safety-sensitive jobs the employer must still demonstrate reasonable good faith objective suspicion unless the testing is justified by a broader public-safety rationale that the jurisdiction recognizes as an independent exception.
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…was not to be found guilty of the offense "unless it is proved that the act which caused the death of the child was not done in good faith for the purpose only of preserving the life of the mother." A seemingly notable development in the English law was the case of Rex v. Bourne , [1939] 1 K. B. 687. This case apparently…