Breathalyzer question

There may an unfair labor practice or two at work here.

What are the written standards in place for requiring a breathalyzer test? Are those standards available to all employees at any time, before the fact? Is the machine tested and certified? Is the person performing the tested trained and certified? What are the laws and regulation in place in allowing employers to perform such tests? Have the employees signed off on allowing these tests as a condition of employment?

So what happens if your friend just emerged from the bathroom and had gargled mouthwash? Or perhaps they have an unknown medical condition that might be perceived by others as alcohol on the breath on occasion?

Even if you live and work in an at will state, you do have employee rights. The real question is are you willing to fight for them in a potential adverse action, or be bullied by an employer into submission? Face it, in this jobs economy I would do my best as an employee to keep my job, and that includes being sharp on the job as well as being ready to fight for the job (if it’s worth it) when accused I haven’t been sharp on the job.

The Intoxilyzer even measures air flow, so it can tell you if the person was really trying or not with a quantifiable number. WIth that number, you probably should be able to say if this was an honest effort to produce a sample or an attempt to fake it and produce as little breath as possible.

I agree even the worst smoker should be able to blow suffciently to produce a meaningful result. An as mentioned before even a partial result should be sufficient for a zero-tolerance location. The machine claims accuracy to 0.005%, so anyone who has had enough to have alcohol on their breath should register somewhat. (Unless she really did not blow at all). Someone who has had one shot of liquor should register what, about 0.02 with a proper breath?

Yes they do. They have two of them as a matter of fact.