'1-strike' pot-test rule for job hopefuls OKd

[The Straight Story]

'1-strike' pot-test rule for job hopefuls OKd

16:06 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- An employer can refuse to hire someone who has ever tested positive for marijuana or other drugs, even if the applicant is now clean and sober, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the "one-strike" rule of the Pacific Maritime Association, which controls hiring in the West Coast longshore industry, doesn't discriminate against rehabilitated addicts in violation of disability laws.

The rule "imposes a harsh penalty on applicants who test positive," and may seem unreasonable because many drug and alcohol users recover, the court said. But it said the maritime association had adopted the rule for safety purposes and did not single out former addicts.

A lawyer for a man who lost a chance for a longshore job because he had tested positive for marijuana seven years earlier said she knows of no other employer, including law enforcement and the armed services, that permanently bars applicants because of a single positive drug test.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/02/BALI1I2HEN.DTL#ixzz1FXURRVmB

[ReggieVeggie]

1. welp! there goes the idea of rehabilitation

New Drug War ad campaign: "Smoke pot once and never work again!"

[surrealAmerican]

3. ... not only that, but these tests are fallible ...

... so now a false positive can mean permanent poverty.

[KharmaTrain]

2. ...And Afterwards

...the judge and his buddies toasted their success at happy hour.

Now does this rule apply to someone who blew over a .08 on a DUI?

This country has gone from one of redemption to total retribution...

[The Straight Story]

4. Meh, some companies won't hire you if you smoke, and some are just fine with that

Although I am sure when it affects them personally - well then they might just care...

[ReggieVeggie]

5. reminds me of an old ST: TNG episode

The inhabitants of a planet were able to strip away all their bad habits and negative inclinations and those phenomena coalesced into an evil being that was left behind. The problem is here people are those being left behind.

[liberal N proud]

6. If you have done once, you will do it again attitude

allows no one the chance to make a positive change in their life.

So a kid or young adult fucks up once and the rest of their life is destroyed.