Knowing your rights: When should you be paid for a mandatory drug test?

Most of the time, anything your employer requires you to do also should come with compensation, according to California law. We’re here to help if that doesn’t happen.

But there are some nuances when it comes to requirements that are tied to a job offer. This summer, an appeals court in California provided some guidelines about how that plays out practically.

Alfred Johnson filed a class-action lawsuit against supermarket chain WinCo Foods. Successful WinCo job applicants were expected to take a drug test as a final condition of employment, and Johnson thought that he and others deserved to be compensated for the time and travel expense of doing so.

WinCo controlled and required the tests, Johnson argued, so the successful applicants should be regarded as employees. As a general rule, when your employer is dictating how you use your time, you are on the clock.

But the district court disagreed with Johnson, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed that ruling. The drug test was part of the job application process — not performance of the job — and the applicants were not yet employees. According to the court, the applicants didn’t become employees until they passed the drug test, as well as a background check. The job offer hinged on the results, and applicants were informed up front. While WinCo paid for the testing itself, it did not pay for related travel expenses or time.

“WinCo went to great lengths when the verbal offer was made to communicate that its job offer was conditional,” according to the ruling.

However, it’s important to note that if you have already been hired, and your employer requires regular drug testing as a condition of continued employment, you should be compensated for that time.

So pay attention to what a prospective employer tells you during the hiring process. Make sure you have a clear understanding of expectations, particularly involving time, pay, and conditions of employment.

Keller Grover is here to help workers with their employment-related disputes. If your employer isn’t treating you fairly, we can help you better understand your rights, protections and options. In more than 25 years litigating fraud and employment cases, we have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients and class members.