Being caught impaired at work is not necessarily the end of the line for TTC employees.

Three months into the transit agency’s controversial new random drug and alcohol testing policy, 17 out of the 680 transit workers checked have tested positive for being inebriated on the job, according to TTC figures.

Ten of the employees no longer work for the transit agency, having either resigned or been dismissed. Four cases are still under investigation.

But three of those who tested positive have been allowed to keep their jobs.

Under a TTC policy that is supported by labour law experts, workers who are impaired on the job aren’t fired if they can show that they have an addiction, which the TTC considers a disability.

“We don’t want anybody to be coming to work impaired, needless to say. But at the same time we want people to be healthy,” said TTC spokesperson Brad Ross.

“People have addictions. We want to help them.”

Ross said that for privacy reasons he couldn’t confirm whether the TTC reinstated the three workers because they admitted to a substance abuse problem, but that “any reinstatement after a positive test would almost certainly be for an addiction.”

If a worker who tests positive claims to have an addiction, their case is reviewed by an independent substance abuse professional, according to Ross.

TTC management and employee relations staff also review the case, and if it’s determined the addiction is genuine the employee is directed to enter a treatment program.

The worker can be cleared to return upon the completion of the program, but before doing so would be tested to ensure they’re free from drugs or alcohol.

The employee is then subject to unannounced drug and alcohol tests for a period of two years. Ross said each worker is dealt with on a case-by-case basis, but that an employee could be terminated if the test uncovers any alcohol or drug use.

Nadia Halum, an employment and human rights lawyer at the Toronto-based MacLeod Law Firm, said that the TTC is legally obligated to give special consideration to workers with addictions.

“Addiction has been recognized as a disability by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario,” she said.

“If someone has a disability and discloses that they have a disability, then the TTC — or any employer really — has a duty to accommodate that disability.”

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents more than 10,000 TTC workers, opposes the random drug testing policy, which the union argues violates the rights of employees. An arbitration ruling on the policy is still pending.

But Local 113 secretary-treasurer Kevin Morton said that subjecting workers who have admitted to an addiction to unannounced tests is a sensible measure to protect public safety.

“I wouldn’t do it for a lifetime … but I would say (two years) is fair,” he said.

Of the 17 workers who have tested positive since the TTC introduced the random testing policy on May 8, five were found to have consumed alcohol, and12 were found to have used unspecified drugs. Two employees refused to be tested, which the TTC considers a violation of the policy that can result in disciplinary action.

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The TTC is still waiting on the results of 24 drug tests, which take several days to process.

Two of the employees who tested positive were transit vehicle operators. One was non-union, meaning the person held a supervisory or management position.

The TTC says that the tests only determine whether someone is impaired at the time of the check, not whether they use drugs or alcohol on their own time.