AZ: Worker Benefits Would Be Denied if Alcohol, Drugs Detected
A bill moving through the Arizona legislature would deny worker's compensation benefits if an employee tests positive for alcohol or other drugs at the time of their injury, the East Valley Tribune reported Feb. 11.
The two bills sponsored by Rep. John McCormish (R-Phoenix) create a legal presumption that alcohol or other drugs played a role in workers' injuries or death if a drug test comes back positive. The measures put the burden on employees or their families to prove that the injury or death was not drug-related.
Employer groups are backing the measure, saying it would provide incentive for workers to avoid alcohol and other drugs on the job, as well as encouraging workplace drug testing.
Opponents said the bill will just shift the burden of caring for injured workers from employers to taxpayers.
The Arizona workers'-comp program was designed as a no-fault system, meaning that injuries are covered regardless of whether the employer or employee was to blame. The tradeoff is that workers give up the right to sue employers for on-the-job injuries.
In 1996, the Arizona Supreme Court rejected a law that created an exception to the workers'-compensation program for alcohol and other drug use.
Attorney Brian Clymer noted that drug testing does not prove intoxication on the job, since metabolites for drugs like marijuana stay in the body long after impairment ends.
