Oklahoma § 40-554 - Drug or alcohol testing by employers - Restrictions

§ 40-554. Drug or alcohol testing by employers - Restrictions

Employers may conduct drug and alcohol testing in accordance

with the Standards for Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Act.

Employers who choose to conduct drug or alcohol testing may only

request or require an applicant or employee to undergo testing under

any of the following circumstances:

1. Applicant and transfer/reassignment testing: A public or

private employer may request or require an applicant to undergo drug

or alcohol testing and may use a refusal to undergo testing or a

positive test result as a basis for refusal to hire. A public or

private employer may also request or require an employee who

transfers to a different position or job, or who is reassigned to a

different position or job, to undergo drug or alcohol testing;

2. For-cause testing: A public or private employer may request

or require an employee to undergo drug or alcohol testing at any

time it reasonably believes that the employee may be under the

influence of drugs or alcohol, including, but not limited to, the

following circumstances:

a.

drugs or alcohol on or about the employee's person or

in the employee's vicinity,

b.

conduct on the employee's part that suggests

impairment or influence of drugs or alcohol,

c.

a report of drug or alcohol use while at work or on

duty,

d.

information that an employee has tampered with drug or

alcohol testing at any time,

e.

negative performance patterns, or

f.

excessive or unexplained absenteeism or tardiness;

3. Post-accident testing: A public or private employer may

require an employee to undergo drug or alcohol testing if the

employee or another person has sustained an injury while at work or

property has been damaged while at work, including damage to

equipment. For purposes of workers' compensation, no employee who

tests positive for the presence of substances defined and consumed

pursuant to Section 465.20 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

alcohol, illegal drugs, or illegally used chemicals, or refuses to

take a drug or alcohol test required by the employer, shall be

eligible for such compensation;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 40. Labor

4. Random testing: A public or private employer may request or

require an employee or all members of an employment classification

or group to undergo drug or alcohol testing at random and may limit

its random testing programs to particular employment classifications

or groups, except that a public employer may require random testing

only of employees who:

a.

are police or peace officers,

b.

have drug interdiction responsibilities,

c.

are authorized to carry firearms,

d.

are engaged in activities which directly affect the

safety of others,

e.

are working for a public hospital including any

hospital owned or operated by a municipality, county,

or public trust, or

f.

work in direct contact with inmates in the custody of

the Department of Corrections or work in direct

contact with juvenile delinquents or children in need

of supervision in the custody of the Department of

Human Services;

5. Scheduled, fitness-for-duty, return from leave and other

periodic testing: A public or private employer may request or

require an employee to undergo drug or alcohol testing if the test

is conducted as a routine part of a routinely scheduled employee

fitness-for-duty medical examination, or is requested or required by

the employer in connection with an employee's return to duty from

leave of absence, or which is scheduled routinely as part of the

employer's written policy, except that a public employer may require

scheduled, periodic testing only of employees who:

a.

are police or peace officers,

b.

have drug interdiction responsibilities,

c.

are authorized to carry firearms,

d.

are engaged in activities which directly affect the

safety of others,

e.

are working for a public hospital including any

hospital owned or operated by a municipality, county,

or public trust, or

f.

work in direct contact with inmates in the custody of

the Department of Corrections or work in direct

contact with juvenile delinquents or children in need

of supervision in the custody of the Department of

Human Services; and

6. Post-rehabilitation testing: A public or private employer

may request or require an employee to undergo drug or alcohol

testing for a period of up to two (2) years commencing with the

employee's return to work, following a positive test or following

participation in a drug or alcohol dependency treatment program.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 40. Labor

Added by Laws 1993, c. 355, § 4, emerg. eff. June 10, 1993. Amended

by Laws 2001, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 3, § 1, emerg. eff. Oct. 23, 2001;

Laws 2005, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 1, § 4, eff. July 1, 2005; Laws 2008,

c. 132, § 11, eff. Nov. 1, 2008; Laws 2011, c. 180, § 3, eff. Nov.

1, 2011; Laws 2012, c. 196, § 18, emerg. eff. May 8, 2012.