Rhode Island Drug Testing Locations and Laws

Last updated : December 23, 2024

We have thousands of Rhode Island drug testing locations. However, you realize USA Mobile Drug Testing will come to you, right? Just let us know when and where. We’ve got you covered from there.

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Rhode Island drug testing locations

Don’t worry if your city isn’t listed. Just call 800-851-2021. We’ll be happy to assist you in finding a location nearby. However—and we’re sure to mention it during the conversation—you might decide to have us come to you instead.

That’s right. You’ll never have to search for “drug testing near me” again! We’ll send a mobile collection specialist to your location, anywhere throughout the state— 24/7/365.

Employees on the job site? We’ll find them.

Night shift coming due for the annual fitness-for-duty drug test? Why not have us show up during their shift rather than interrupting their sleep schedule to report for testing during normal business hours? The phrase “drug testing near me” takes on an entirely new meaning when the test rolls right up to your location, doesn’t it?

We offer employee education classes, management training, and DOT services. We can also create your company’s drug-free program. We’ll even customize your policies to specifically meet the needs of your business.

Rhode Island drug testing laws

The State of Rhode Island mandates that all employees working in safety-sensitive industries, as are those mandated by the Department of Transportation, for instance, drug test employees. Employers of the general workforce are regulated to a degree as well.

For instance, in Rhode Island, job applicants may be required to submit to a drug test by an employer upon applying for employment. The applicants must, however, be given the opportunity to supply test samples in privacy without the knowledge of any other person. If a positive result is obtained after the test, the results must be retested by a certified federal laboratory for confirmation. The employer can then choose not to hire the applicant. The drug test result may not be revealed to other parties.

Once hired, an employer can request that an employee be subjected to drug testing only if reasonable grounds exist. This includes concrete observation which makes the employer causing him or her to believe that the employee may be under the influence of drugs and it is hindering job performance. Aside from this situation, a Rhode Island employee cannot be submitted to drug testing. Just as in the case of applicants, the employee must be allowed private submission of the test samples in the presence of no other person. If the drug test result is positive, a retest must be done by a certified federal laboratory for confirmation.

The cost associated with the employee submitting to drug testing must be paid for by the employer. If a positive test result occurs, the employee can request a second test for drugs and alcohol, also at the expense of the employer.

The implication of positive drug testing results on an employee

If the drug testing has a positive result or drugs or alcohol, job termination is not necessarily automatic. However, should an employer choose to retain the employee, he or she must be referred to a certified substance abuse professional. Once such a program is completed, the employer may request additional drug testing. If the results of an additional drug test prove positive it implies that the employee is a substance addict, The employer then can terminate the employee with no repercussions.

Violating drug testing laws

Under Rhode Island law, violation of any of the drug test provisions by the employers amounts to a misdemeanor. Any employer committing such a crime may be subjected to fines, claims for punitive damages, and attorney fees. Furthermore, applicants and employees can claim some legal rights depending on certain conditions, such as how the test was conducted, who was tested, or how the test results were used. Below are a few examples:

Disability discrimination: Any applicant or employee taking medication for his or her disability is protected by the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). If any of these prescribed medications are revealed while the applicant or employee is undergoing drug testing, and the employee or applicant is sanctioned based on a positive drug test (which was as a result of legitimately prescribed illegal drugs, such as opiates, for certain conditions), the employer may be liable if the medication was legally prescribed for a disability and being used appropriately.
Other discrimination claims: It is unlawful for an employer to select only certain groups of employees to undergo drug testing. For example, selection by race, by age, or by gender for drug testing can result in an employer being found guilty of a discrimination.
Invasion of privacy: An employer is allowed under Rhode Island law to require an employee to undergo drug testing. If such an employer violates an employee’s privacy by requiring that the employee provide a urine sample in the presence of others, this can be interpreted as an invasion of privacy and subject to liability.
Defamation: In a situation whereby an employer stated publicly that the employee tested positive, and the employer is aware or had reason to know that the test result was negative, the employer could be charged with defamation.

Workers’ compensation claims

If a worker is involved in an accident and the employer suspects the employee’s use of drugs or alcohol caused it, a worker can be asked to undergo post-accident drug testing. If the results of the test are positive and the employee is terminated, he or she may be denied workers’ compensation claims. Additionally, a worker who sustained injury, died, or caused injury or death of another by willful intention or by intoxication shall be refused compensation.

Rhode Island drug-free workplace

The importance of operating a Drug-Free Workplace cannot be over-emphasized. The State of Rhode Island encourages businesses across the State to be Drug-Free Workplaces. The advantages of having a drug-free workplace are numerous to both the employers and the employees, some of which are: a decrease in employee absenteeism, a decrease in employee turnover, a decrease in theft, and an increase in customer service and employee morale.

The following standards should be utilized when establishing a company drug-free workplace program:

The employer must have a written drug and alcohol policy and make it available to all employees.
The types of employee drug testing should be pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion, and post-accident.
Provision of certified laboratory and qualified Medical Review Officer.
Employee assistance program for substance abuse treatment (EAP).
Supervisor and employee education program.
Maintain all other required documentation of a drug-free workplace program.

Marijuana laws

Under Rhode Island law, there is a provision allowing the use of prescribed medical marijuana. No employers are allowed to discriminate against an employee based on the fact that such an employee is a qualified medical marijuana user. However, in a bid to ensure a drug-free workplace, employers are not prohibited from disallowing medical marijuana in the workplace.

Use of medical marijuana by employees of the Department of Transportation (DOT) or other safety-sensitive departments is prohibited. Medical marijuana is not permitted to be used in public.

Recreational marijuana is legal in Rhode Island, as well. A law created in May 2002 protects employees’ rights in regard to legal marijuana use. It includes the information that, generally, employers are prohibited from terminating or taking disciplinary action against an employee “based on an employee’s private lawful use of cannabis outside the workplace.” However, the employee should never be under the influence of the drug while at work.

Testing methods

Blood testing is rarely used for employee drug testing due to its expense and highly invasive nature. Blood tests detect the parent drug rather than drug metabolites. Therefore, the detection window is mere hours for nearly all drugs. However, methamphetamines remain in the blood for one to three days.

The test must be administered in a medical setting by trained medical personnel. It’s often reserved for post-accident testing when determining

There are three primary test methods used for employee drug testing. They are urine, mouth swab, or hair follicle drug tests. Instant testing methods for urine and oral fluid tests are permitted, however, in case of a positive test result, the specimen should be forwarded to an approved laboratory for confirmation.

Urine drug test

The urine drug test tops the charts as the most used employee drug testing method. As a matter of fact, it was the only drug testing method available for many years. However, over the years, drug users became more capable of finding successful ways to adulterate this test. Scientists invented both the mouth swab test and the hair follicle test in an attempt to combat that problem.

Today, urine tests have become extremely effective at detecting drugs and adulterants or other attempts to falsify these tests. Drug users still try, however, and discover the hard way that shouldn’t have been their chosen course of action.

The identification period is drug-specific and varies from mere hours up to three weeks or so. Marijuana is the exception to the rule as chronic users can test positive for THC for over thirty days.

These tests are cost-effective and produce accurate results. If the immunoassay (IA) test shows a positive result, the sample is sent for confirmation testing using the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MC) test. This test also specifies the drug(s) and drug level(s).

Results return in less than a week.

Mouth swab test

This method also goes by the names of saliva or oral fluid tests. It’s in the midrange in regard to the cost being more expensive than the urine test but less expensive than a hair test.

The mouth swab test detects recent and even current impairment for some drugs. The window of detection is the shortest of the three primary methods, however, only lasting up to seventy-two hours depending on the drug. For instance, marijuana is only detected on this test for about twenty-four hours no matter how often the drug is ingested.

Mouth swab testing technology is becoming more and more sophisticated and the results are extremely accurate. Consequently, it’s virtually impossible to switch the specimen as the test subject never leaves the testing technician’s sight. Moreover, attempts to falsify the test using mouthwashes or other adulterants claiming to mask or “detoxify” the drug metabolites in the body are false. The body is constantly producing saliva and it will be collected by the mouth swab.

At the lab, the mouth swab samples undergo an IA test and those yielding positive results go on for the GC/MS test for confirmation. The second test also determines the drug type and level found in the system.

Employers receive the results in a couple of days.

Hair follicle testing

The hair follicle test is unique in that it identifies any and all drug use for a 90-day period. It’s more expensive than either the urine or saliva drug tests. However, the extended detection period outweighs the cost in the eyes of many. In fact, some employers in the trucking industry require their employees to submit to both the DOT drug test and the hair follicle test. They choose to incur the added expense of additional drug testing to have access to the extended detection period.

In addition, the hair follicle test is impossible to falsify. Drug metabolites store themselves throughout the body until excreted. Those that stow away in the hair follicle, actually grow out into the hair shaft becoming a part of the hair. Moreover, there’s no way to rid the hair of them or to cover them with a substance that will hide them from the test.

We determine the 90-day detection period by hair length. Human hair grows at the rate of about 1/2 inch per month. The standard test length for the hair follicle test is one and one-half inches. Thus, one and one-half inches equals ninety days. However, laboratories honor requests to extend the detection window even further by increasing the length of hair tested.

It won’t be much longer before the DOT drug test changes from the urine test to the hair follicle test. The request is currently making its way through the chain of command and isn’t expected to meet with resistance at any point along the way.

Comparatively, it takes about a week to receive results.

Drugs detected

The standard 5 panel employee drug test is widely used by employers of the general workforce. As its name implies, it accurately detects five commonly abused drugs in the workplace. The drugs identified on the test typically include amphetamines, cocaine, opiates, marijuana, and PCP.

However, some employers choose to use a more extensive test and look to the 9, 10, or 12 panel drug tests. USA Mobile Drug Testing offers these test panels, however, we don’t limit employers to the drug panels placed on them. Employers are free to swap a drug on the test panel for another, add additional drugs to the test panel they’ve chosen, or even create their own unique drug screen panel.

Moreover, we have the capability to test for all manner of drugs, including “specialty” drugs such as bath salts, K2, steroids, or synthetic opioids.

Some specific drug identification periods

We’ve mentioned that the specific length of drug detection varies, with the exception of the hair follicle test. Some examples of detection periods follow:

Amphetamines and methamphetamines are detected on the urine test for two or three days, but habitual use may show up for four days. The saliva test identifies amphetamines for twenty-four to forty-eight hours.
Barbiturates remain detectable in urine for up to three weeks and in the saliva for up to three days.
Benzodiazepines show up in urine tests for up to ten days and in the saliva for about two and a half days.
Cocaine is traceable in urine tests for up to three days and in the saliva for up to two days.
It takes a couple of hours for ecstasy to show up in a urine test and it can be identified between one and three days thereafter. Saliva tests pick up on ecstasy in as little as 15 minutes after taking the drug. It remains traceable for one or two days.
Synthetic opioids, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone, are identifiable in urine between two to four days. Saliva tests vary a bit more ranging from up to 12 to 48 hours depending on the frequency of use.
Methaqualone detection lasts up to three days when using a urine drug test. The saliva test detects this drug for at least one day, however, if used frequently it shows up for a longer period of time.

DOT information

The DOT (Department of Transportation) was created to regulate the safety-sensitive workforce through the following administrations.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Federal Railroad Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Transit Administration
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
United States Coast Guard

The goal of the DOT is to ensure the safety of the general public as they travel by land, air, or sea. One of the regulations includes safety-sensitive employee drug testing. Employers regulated by the DOT implement the following employee drug tests:

The DOT mandates the use of the urine drug test that includes a specific drug panel. However, it approved the oral fluid drug test for use as soon as there are two SAMHSA-certified laboratories to analyze oral fluid specimens. That’s expected to happen by early 2024 at the latest.

DOT drug test

The DOT drug test requires employers to test for five of the most commonly abused drugs in the workplace. They are amphetamines, opiates, cocaine, marijuana, and PCP (phencyclidine). However, in a direct attempt to combat the growing opiate addiction crisis plaguing our nation, they added four semi-synthetic opioids to the test panel in January 2018.

Hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, and oxymorphone are highly addictive pain medications. Heavily prescribed by physicians for years, these drugs are highly addictive. Sadly, many who found themselves craving the drugs when they were no longer prescribed the medication turned to the black market. Or, perhaps, in an attempt to feed the addiction when their drug of choice became too costly, they turned to heroin use instead.

The DOT has long considered switching from the urine drug test to the hair follicle drug test. We previously stated that the official request is currently making its way through the chain of command. Many expect it to complete the process in the near future. In the meantime, the oral fluid test has been approved for use as soon as there are two SAMHSA-certified laboratories available to process the tests.

FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse

The FMCSA Clearinghouse has been up and running for over three years now. It tracks safety-sensitive employees who have outstanding drug or alcohol violations. Employers no longer need to conduct manual inquiries with previous employers in addition to the Clearinghouse query. Only Clearinghouse queries are necessary.

Now, it’s virtually impossible for drivers with violations to obtain a job with a new employer by simply not listing the employer they worked for when receiving the violation. Furthermore, less-than-honest drivers with drug or alcohol violations can no longer pick up and move to another state to apply for a new CDL. The Clearinghouse links the driver to his old CDL, thereby, maintaining complete and accurate information.

Drivers from Canada and Mexico who transport goods in the U.S. must be listed in the database as well.

Once a driver successfully completes their return to duty process, they will be allowed to operate a commercial motor vehicle again. However, records of drug and alcohol violations will remain on file in the Clearinghouse for five years or longer if the driver hasn’t yet completed the return to duty process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I lose my job if I refuse the random drug test at work?

If your employer has over 50 employees and does random drug tests, you’re supposed to take the test if your name comes up. Consequently, if you refuse, your employer has the right to follow the drug testing protocol set in place.

I’m an owner-operator, so it’s just me. Do I have to register for the Clearinghouse and submit a query on myself?

Yes, you have to be accounted for in the database. Your C/TPA (consortium/third-party administrator) can conduct your queries on your behalf. If there should be a drug or alcohol violation, the C/TPA is responsible for reporting to the Clearinghouse.

So, do I have a right to see what the Clearinghouse says about me?

Yes. Drivers can access the database free of charge at any time. Head over to the website to get signed up.

Medical marijuana is legal. I’ve got Crohn’s disease and have medical authorization to use it. What happens if I pop positive on the test though?

Employers hold the right to make that decision. What’s your company’s drug policy say about marijuana? If they don’t stipulate allowing for medical conditions, they have no choice but to follow company policy. In most cases, employees are terminated.

Does everybody drug test now?

No. Not all employers test for drug use. But the majority do because maintaining a drug-free workplace is a way to ensure a safe work environment.

How long are drugs detected in my system?

It depends on the testing method your employer uses. The hair follicle test yields result for 90 days, up to 30 for the urine test, and the mouth swab test up to 72 hours. Detection times vary depending on the drug for urine and mouth swab. But the hair test shows all drug use for 90 days.

I heard there is a breathalyzer for marijuana now. Is that true?

Several companies are in the testing phases. A THC-detecting breathalyzer will be a benefit to law enforcement and employers in states that are legalizing marijuana. This will enable them to know whether or not a person is currently impaired

If I drink lots of water before my urine test, will it come back negative?

If your urine is exceptionally diluted, it will probably come back with an inconclusive result.

I have a shy bladder, and I know this drug test is not going to “go” well. What do I do?

Lots of people have this problem. Talk to your HR department. There may be another method in place for situations like yours. If not, they may work with you to reach a solution, i.e., making a change in that protocol! Good luck!

My doctor prescribed my pain medication. Can he write me something that will be accepted by my employer if I get pulled for a random?

Nope. Drug-free is drug-free. If you are taking medication and a drug test pops positive, your employer will follow the company procedures set in place.