Welcome to Littler´s Employment Law Quiz! Fine-tune your knowledge of employment law while improving your employee relations skills at the same time. You can test yourself or send this quiz around to your managers. Good luck!

Substance Abuse in the Workplace

What should a supervisor do if he or she suspects an employee has illicit drugs in the employee´s desk or at the employee´s work station?

A. Call law enforcement.

B. Confront the employee immediately and announce his or her suspicions.

C. Discreetly confiscate the suspected drugs without the employee knowing it.

D. Ask coworkers about the employee´s actions and habits as part of an immediate investigation.

E. None of the above.

The best answer is E. A supervisor should never confront a suspected drug user one-on-one; the supervisor always should be accompanied by another management representative (for safety reasons and so that a reliable witness to the encounter is available). If the suspected contraband turns out to be a lawful substance (or arguably belongs to someone else), A and C could spark compelling legal challenges. D sounds like defamation, a "witch hunt" and/or premature action. The supervisor should: (a) contact more senior management; (b) know the appropriate policy and procedures; (c) confront the individual in tandem with another manager or security representative; (d) give a receipt to the employee for any suspected contraband taken; and (e) document the incident in writing as soon as possible after it occurs.