10 Things to Know About Workplace Drug Testing - State Laws and Regulations in California

1) Who Must Test				examined.
Basically state law requires those individuals who				6) Who Pays
work with and for the public must undergo drug				No employee can be forced to pay for a drug
testing. For example, city bus drivers and police				test. The employer, whether it is a public or
officers must undergo mandatory testing. Of				private company, must pay all drug testing fees
course this is to ensure the safety of the public.				and charges as the cost can be quite prohibitive.
Private companies do face some boundaries as to				7) Who Can Be Tested
the employees they can drug test and when				In San Francisco an employer cannot test
these tests can occur. All in all however, private				employees for drugs randomly. However, outside
companies can conduct drug testing.				of San Francisco random drug testing is allowed if
2) Types of Drugs				an employee is directly responsible for the public's
There are no state laws set forth by any court in				safety or conducts an activity that could
California stating what types of drugs can and				jeopardize the public's safety.
cannot be tested for. Therefore employers have				8) When Can an Employee Be Tested?
the option to test for something as extreme as				There is no set day and time an employee is
heroin or as harmless as ibuprofen. The majority				tested for drug use. Standardly drug testing takes
of employers test for only those drugs that				place just prior to starting a job but there is no
might cause impairment on the job.				law that states when employers must drug test.
3) Disclosure				An employer might request a drug test if there is
Neither public nor private companies are required				an accident at work to clear the employee of
to post a notice in their place of business that				drug use.
they test employees for drug use.				9) The Lab
4) Company Statutes				Where an employer requests an employee go for
There is no requirement that companies have a				drug testing is up to the discretion of the
formal policy regarding drug testing included in				employer. There is no mandatory facility that
their employee handbook. Therefore an employee				must be used for drug testing by law or
cannot expect to find a written drug policy in the				ordinance.
employers statutes.				10) Positive Results
5) Types of Tests				An employee that test positive for drug use is at
There are no limitations as to what type of				the mercy of the company. Obviously, at the
testing a company can or must use to test for				very least, the employee will probably loose his
drugs. Therefore a company can opt for the				job. However, if the employer feels it is
standard urine test or select the more extreme				warranted, charges could be filed against the
blood test or even request a hair sample be				employee, especially if the public was in jeopardy.