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Alabama Drug Testing

Last updated: April 6, 2020

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Alabama Drug testing locations

Don’t see your city listed? Call USA Mobile Drug Testing at 800-851-2021 and we can either help find a location near you, or send a mobile collection specialist to you, anywhere throughout Alabama, 24/7/365.

Alabama Drug testing laws

In addition to the federal drug and alcohol testing law, Alabama has established a voluntary drug and alcohol testing program. The Alabama Drug-Free Workplace Program provides voluntary guidelines for employers that institute drug and alcohol testing programs and policies. Certain employers who implement a drug-free workplace program in compliance with the Alabama Drug-Free Workplace are eligible for a 5 percent discount on their workers’ compensation insurance premiums. Also, under Alabama law, employees may be disqualified from receiving unemployment or workers’ compensation benefits for testing positive for drugs or alcohol.

Drug-free workplace program

There is a 5 percent workers’ compensation insurance premium discount for employers that establish a drug-free workplace program. However, self-insured employers are not eligible for this discount. To qualify for the discount, an employer’s drug-free program must be certified by the Workers’ Compensation Division of the Alabama Department of Labor as being in full compliance with the law. Once an employer has been certified for more than four years, any premium discount is determined from the experience rating of the employer (or by the State Insurance Commissioner, if the employer is not experience-rated).

Definitions

For the purposes of the Alabama Drug-Free Workplace Program, the term “drug” is defined as:

  • Amphetamines;
  • Cannabinoids;
  • Cocaine;
  • Phencyclidine (PCP);
  • Methadone;
  • Methaqualone;
  • Opiates;
  • Barbiturates;
  • Benzodiazepines;
  • Propoxyphene; or
  • A metabolite of any of the substances listed.

Requirements

In order for a drug-free workplace program to be certified, employers must meet all of the following requirements of the Alabama Drug-Free Workplace Program’s Written Policy and Posting Requirements. Prior to testing employees or job applicants, employers must provide a one-time notice of testing that informs employees that a substance abuse program is being implemented and testing is commencing. Employers must allow a minimum of 60 days between providing this one-time notice and the beginning of testing.

All employees must be given a written policy that contains all of the following:

  • A statement regarding the types of test an employee or job applicant may be required to take
  • A statement informing employees and job applicants of the actions the employer may take on the basis of a positive confirmed test result
  • A general statement concerning confidentiality
  • Information on the consequences for refusing to submit to a drug test
  • A statement advising employees of the employer’s Employee Assistance Program, or of the employer’s resource file of assistance programs and other individuals, entities, or organizations designed to assist employees with personal or behavioral problems
  • A statement informing employees and job applicants who receive a positive confirmed test result that they may contest or explain the result of the test to the employer within five working days after written notice of the test result
  • A statement informing employees of the provisions of the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act, if the law is applicable to the employer.

Employers must include a notice of substance abuse testing in job announcements for positions for which testing is required. Employers must also post a notice of the employer’s substance abuse policy in an appropriate and conspicuous location in the workplace. Additionally, employers must make copies of the policy available for inspection by employees and job applicants during regular business hours.

Types of testing

To qualify for a workers’ compensation insurance premium discount, employers are required to conduct the following types of tests:

  • Testing of job applicants after an offer of employment is extended
  • Reasonable suspicion testing
  • Routine fitness-for-duty testing
  • Post-rehabilitation testing
  • Post-accident testing

Cost of test

Under the Alabama Drug-Free Workplace Program, employers are required to pay the costs of all drug tests, initial and confirmation, which the employer requires of its employees. However, employees and job applicants are responsible for the cost of any additional tests not required by an employer.

Employee education

Employers are required to provide all employees with a semi-annual education program on substance abuse in general and its effects on the workplace. An employee education program should be a minimum of one hour and include information on:

  • the explanation of the disease model of addiction for alcohol and drugs;
  • the effects and dangers of the commonly abused substances in the workplace; and
  • the employer’s policies and procedures regarding substance abuse in the workplace and how employees who wish to obtain substance abuse treatment can do so.

Supervisor training

In addition to providing employee education programs, employers must provide all supervisory personnel with a minimum of two hours of training, which includes, but is not limited to, information on:

  • how to recognize signs of employee substance abuse
  • how to document and collaborate signs of employee substance abuse
  • how to refer a substance-abusing employee to a drug and alcohol treatment or rehibiliation center or program.

Confidentiality of test information

All interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, and test results received by an employer through a substance abuse program must be held as confidential communications. Information received through an employer’s substance abuse program may be used or received in evidence, obtained in discovery, or disclosed in any civil or administrative proceeding. However, information and test results may not be released for use in any criminal proceedings against an employee or applicant.

Release of test information under any other circumstance must occur in accordance to a written consent form signed voluntarily by the individual who was tested, unless the release is compelled by state agency or court. Test information may also be released by employers without a signed consent form if deemed appropriate by a professional or occupational licensing board in a related disciplinary proceeding.

Certification process

Employers desiring a Drug-Free Workplace certification must submit a written request to the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, Workers’ Compensation Division on a yearly basis. Employers requesting certification for the first time must submit the Drug-Free Application for first year’s certification and supplemental information. Employers applying for recertification must submit the Drug Free Application for subsequent years annually. Employers are required to maintain compliance with the criteria for a certified drug-free workplace for the entire year a certification is granted.

Denial of unemployment compensation

Under Alabama law, former employees may be denied unemployment benefits if they are dismissed for failing a blood or urine drug test, provided the employee has been warned that a positive test could result in dismissal under the employer’s policy. To be disqualified for unemployment compensation, drug testing must be conducted in accordance with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s testing standards or standards shown by the employer to be reliable.

Further, employees who refuse to submit to or cooperate with a blood or urine drug test or knowingly alter or adulterate a test specimen are not eligible for unemployment benefits under Alabama law.

Denial of workers’ compensation

Under Alabama’s workers’ compensation law, benefits may be denied if an employee’s injury is due to intoxication from the use of alcohol or illegal drugs. For the purposes of workers’ compensation, a positive drug test performed in accordance with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s test regulations is considered sufficient evidence for a denial of benefits.

Additionally, an employee’s refusal to undergo a drug test is a valid basis for the denial of workers’ compensation benefits if an employer has warned the employee, in writing, that refusing to submit to a drug test forfeits the employee’s right to workers’ compensation.

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