STATE DRUG TESTING LAW 101 BY BILL CURRENT AND SHARON BOTTCHER, CURRENT CONSULTING GROUP, LLC
State Drug Testing Laws and Your Written Policy
As a company considers the
development or updating of a written policy, it is important to keep in mind that some state drug testing laws are mandatory while others are voluntary. The voluntary laws are just that, voluntary, they are not required of all employers in a given state. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but if a company chooses to participate in a state’s voluntary drug testing program it must comply with the requirements of that state’s law. There are 14 states with voluntary laws and a written drug testing policy is required in each of those states. To ensure compliance, review the actual
This column will provide our readers with news and updates on state drug testing laws.
good policy is comprehensive and well thought out. It is the product of many discussions and carefully crafted wording which makes the end result a blueprint for how a company will actually achieve its drug testing objectives. In the process of writing a policy, all applicable state laws must be considered and addressed in writing. Because no two companies are exactly
A
alike, every policy should be unique. There really is no such thing as a one- size-fits-all “model” policy. Good, legally defensible drug testing policies do not come from vending machines. Many state drug testing laws require
specific components be included in a drug testing policy. Typically these requirements focus on why a company conducts drug testing, who is subject to testing, how testing will be administered, and what the consequences will be when someone violates the policy.
72 datia focus
written drug testing policy is critical to the success of any drug-free workplace program. A
statutes for these states with voluntary laws: AL, AK, AZ, AR, FL, GA, ID, KY, MS, OH, SC, TN, UT and WY. Among the states with mandatory drug
testing laws, these states require employers to have a writen policy: CT, HA, IA, LA, ME, MD, MN, MT, OK, RI, VT and the territory of Puerto Rico. However, even in states that do not
have a drug testing statute, there may be other laws that require a writen policy. For example, Michigan, which does not have a mandatory or voluntary drug testing law, has an unemployment compensation law that requires that a drug test be administered in a non-discriminatory manner “in accordance with a writen policy…” in order for the result of the test to be useable in an effort to contest a claim. North Carolina is an example of a state with a mandatory drug testing law that does not specifically mention policy content; however, the state’s unemployment compensation law requires a company to have a writen drug testing policy. Additionally, there are numerous
examples of states with workers’ compensation laws (some with drug
Spring 2016
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80