HUNTINGTON – The Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce, along with BrickStreet Insurance, will present a seminar about the 2017 Safer Workplaces Act.
The seminar will be held on July 27 at 3 p.m. at St. Mary’s Educational Center.
The SWA was passed earlier this year by the West Virginia Legislature.
The seminar is designed to benefit anyone working in human resources or in the management of employees where drug testing occurs. It will be taught by Toney Stroud, a lawyer with BrickStreet Insurance and a member of the Chamber’s Executive Committee.
A reception will immediately follow.
The seminar is free for Chamber members to attend and is $50 for non-members. To register for the seminar, please contact the Chamber at 304-525-5131 or by email at chamber@huntingtonchamber.org.
The Safer Workplaces Act went into effect on July 7 and makes private sector drug/alcohol testing legal with broad sweeping liability protection.
The new law notes that an employer’s right to conduct drug/alcohol screening outweighs the employee’s right to privacy. However, strict compliance with the act as well as the employer’s written policy is required for liability protection.
The act is very specific with regarding to testing and disciplinary actions for a positive test or an employee’s refusal to be tested. Therefore, it is essential that employers covered by the act draft a policy that is in strict adherence with the provisions of this new law.