Problems of Dura and its Employees over Prescription Drugs - Essay Example

Problems of Dura and its Employees over Prescription Drugs Dura Automotive systems, a car windows manufacturing company has to fight two court casesbecause of its policy change to fire those employees who are taking prescription drugs and are found positive in laboratory testing (Hosier, par. 4). Dura is finding itself in a tight corner over its decision to fire the employees because it can not ignore the safety precautions to be taken at workplace. If it ignores the nationwide concern on workplace safety, accidents could take place, putting at risk the lives of other employees too (Zezima and Goodnough par. 4). A large number of Dura employees (8.8 percent) are taking strong prescription drugs for pain, anxiety, and other medical problems.

It has become a huge problem for Dura, as it has to put them first on a 30-day leave of absence and a second test has to be cleared by the employees to join their jobs (Hosier par. 6). Employees see the problem of prescription drug taking at workplace from a different perspective. Employees like Sue Bates agree that safety is a viable concern for the company but in stead of working together to resolve the problem, Dura has chosen the wrong path of firing the employees, thus, ignoring the human aspect of the problem.

Dura should have a sound belief that the employees are not capable to handle job functions before taking any punitive action (Hosier, par. 10-14). For employees, the policy change by Dura to straightway fire those employees who are found positive in drug testing is highly discriminatory and an attack on their privacy. (Zezima and Goodnough par. 3). Works Cited Hosier, Fred. “Prescribed Drugs: What can Companies do about this Safety Hazard?” Safety/News Alert. 1 November 2010. Web. 31 January 2012.

Zezima, Katie. Goodnough, Abby. “Drug Testing poses Quandary for Employers.” The New York Times. 24 October 2010. Web. 31 January 2012.