SF0098 - Drug and alcohol testing act.

 

2001

State of Wyoming

01LSO-0380

 

 

 

SENATE FILE NO.  SF0098

 

 

Drug and alcohol testing act.

 

Sponsored by:

 

 

A BILL

 

for

 

 1  AN ACT relating to drug and alcohol testing; requiring a
 2  qualified testing program to comply with specific criteria;
 3  specifying when an employer may perform a qualified drug or
 4  alcohol test; and providing for an effective date.

 5 

 6  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

 7 

 8         Section 1.  W.S. 27-15-101 through 27-15-104 are
 9  created to read:

10 

11                         CHAPTER 15

12                   DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING

13 

14         27-15-101.  Definitions.

15 

16         (a)  As used in this article:

17 

 

Page  1

 

 

 

 1              (i)  "Alcohol" means any substance containing any
 2  form of alcohol, including but not limited to, ethanol,
 3  methanol, propanol and isopropanol;

 4 

 5              (ii)  "Alcohol concentration" means:

 6 

 7                   (A)  The number of grams of alcohol per one
 8  hundred (100) milliliters of blood;

 9 

10                   (B)  The number of grams of alcohol per two
11  hundred ten (210) liters of breath; or

12 

13                   (C)  The number of grams of alcohol per
14  seventy-five (75) milliliters of urine.

15 

16              (iii)  "Controlled substance" means any drug or
17  substance defined by W.S. 35-7-1002(a)(iv);

18 

19              (iv)  "Employee" means an individual engaged in
20  the performance, supervision or management of work in a
21  hazardous work environment, security position, position
22  affecting public safety or fiduciary position for an
23  employer and does not include an independent contractor;

24 

 

Page  2

 

 

 

 1              (v)  "Employer" means a person or entity that has
 2  one (1) or more employees and that is located in or doing
 3  business in Wyoming;

 4 

 5              (vi)  "Medical review officer" means a licensed
 6  physician trained in the field of substance abuse;

 7 

 8              (vii)  "Prospective employee" means an individual
 9  who has made a written or oral application to an employer
10  to become an employee;

11 

12              (viii)  "Qualified testing program" means a
13  program to test for the presence of controlled substances
14  and alcohol that meets the criteria set forth in W.S.
15  27-15-102 and 27-15-103;

16 

17              (ix)  "Sample" means a urine specimen or blood
18  specimen to determine the presence of a controlled
19  substance or a breath alcohol test to determine the
20  presence of alcohol.

21 

22         27-15-102.  Qualified testing program.

23 

 

Page  3

 

 

 

 1         (a)  A qualified testing program shall comply with the
 2  following criteria:

 3 

 4              (i)  Testing shall be conducted according to the
 5  terms of written policies and procedures that are adopted
 6  by the employer and available for review by all employees
 7  sixty (60) days before the terms are implemented or
 8  changed. The procedures shall require:

 9 

10                   (A)  A description of the applicable legal
11  sanctions under federal, state and local law for the
12  unlawful manufacture, distribution, possession or use of a
13  controlled substance;

14 

15                   (B)  The employer's program for regularly
16  educating or providing information to employees on the
17  health and workplace safety risks associated with the use
18  of controlled substances and alcohol;

19 

20                   (C)  The employer's standards of conduct
21  that regulate the use of controlled substances and alcohol
22  by employees;

23 

 

Page  4

 

 

 

 1                   (D)  A description of available employee
 2  assistance programs, including drug and alcohol counseling,
 3  treatment or rehabilitation programs that are available to
 4  employees.

 5 

 6              (ii)  Identification of the types of controlled
 7  substance and alcohol tests to be used from the types of
 8  tests listed in W.S. 25-15-104;

 9 

10              (iii)  A list of controlled substances for which
11  the employer intends to test and a stated alcohol
12  concentration level above which a tested employee must be
13  sanctioned;

14 

15              (iv)  A description of the employer's hiring
16  policy with respect to prospective employees who test
17  positive;

18 

19              (v)  A detailed description of the procedures
20  that will be followed to conduct the testing program,
21  including the resolution of a dispute concerning test
22  results;

23 

 

Page  5

 

 

 

 1              (vi)  A provision that all information,
 2  interviews, reports, statements, memoranda and test results
 3  are confidential communications that may not be disclosed
 4  to anyone except:

 5 

 6                   (A)  The tested employee; or

 7 

 8                   (B)  The designated representative of the
 9  employer.

10 

11              (vii)  A provision that information obtained
12  through testing that is unrelated to the use of a
13  controlled substance or alcohol shall be held in strict
14  confidentiality by the medical review officer and shall not
15  be released to the employer.

16 

17         (b)  Testing shall be at the employer's expense, and
18  all employees shall be compensated at the employee's
19  regular rate, including benefits, for time attributable to
20  the testing program.

21 

22         (c)  The collection, transportation and confirmation
23  testing of urine samples shall be performed in accordance
24  with 49 C.F.R. § 40.

 

Page  6

 

 

 

 1 

 2         (d)  Before an employer may take any action based on a
 3  positive test result, the employer shall have the results
 4  reviewed and certified by a medical review officer who is
 5  trained in the field of substance abuse. The employee or
 6  prospective employee shall be given the opportunity to
 7  provide notification to the medical review officer of any
 8  medical information that is relevant to interpreting test
 9  results, including information concerning currently or
10  recently used prescription or nonprescription drugs.

11 

12         (e)  Breath alcohol tests shall be administered by a
13  certified breath alcohol technician and shall only be
14  conducted using testing equipment that appears on the list
15  of conforming products published in the federal register.

16 

17         (f)  A breath alcohol test result shall indicate an
18  alcohol concentration of greater than four one-hundredths
19  of one percent (0.04%) for a person to be considered as
20  having alcohol in the person's body.

21 

22         27-15-103.  Qualified testing program; allowable
23  types; procedures.

24 

 

Page  7

 

 

 

 1         (a)  Each of the following activities is permissible
 2  in the implementation of a qualified testing program:

 3 

 4              (i)  An employer may test any prospective
 5  employee as a condition of hire;

 6 

 7              (ii)  An employer may use random testing if the
 8  employer's controlled substance and alcohol policy includes
 9  one (1) or both of the following procedures:

10 

11                   (A)  An employer or an employer's
12  representative may establish a date when all salaried and
13  wage-earning employees will be required to undergo a
14  controlled substance or alcohol test or both;

15 

16                   (B)  An employer may manage or contract with
17  a third party to establish and administer a random testing
18  process that shall include:

19 

20                         (I)  An established calendar period for
21  testing;

22 

23                         (II)  An established testing rate
24  within the calendar period;

 

Page  8

 

 

 

 1 

 2                         (III)  A random selection process that
 3  will determine who will be tested on any given date during
 4  the calendar period for testing;

 5 

 6                         (IV)  All supervisory and managerial
 7  employees in the random selection and testing process; and

 8 

 9                         (V)  A procedure that requires the
10  employer to obtain a signed statement from each employee
11  that confirms that the employee has received a written
12  description of the random selection process and that
13  requires the employer to maintain the statement in the
14  employee's personnel file. The selection of employees in a
15  random testing procedure shall be made by a scientifically
16  valid method, such as a random number table or a computer-
17  based random number generator table.

18 

19              (iii)  An employer may require an employee to
20  submit to followup tests if the employee has had a verified
21  positive test for a controlled substance or for alcohol.
22  The followup tests shall be described in the employer's
23  controlled substance and alcohol policy and may be

Page  9

 

 

 

 1  conducted for up to one (1) year from the time that the
 2  employer first requires a followup test;

 3 

 4              (iv)  An employer may require an employee to be
 5  tested for controlled substances or alcohol if the employer
 6  has reason to suspect that an employee's faculties are
 7  impaired on the job as a result of the use of a controlled
 8  substance or alcohol consumption. An employer shall comply
 9  with the supervisory training requirement in 49 C.F.R. §
10  382.603;

11 

12              (v)  An employer may require an employee to be
13  tested for controlled substances or alcohol if the employer
14  has reason to believe that the employee's act or failure to
15  act is a direct or proximate cause of a work related
16  accident that has caused death or personal injury or
17  property damage in excess of one thousand five hundred
18  dollars ($1,500.00);

19 

20         27-15-104.  Drug testing; enforcement.

21 

22  Any employer committing an act in violation of any
23  provision of W.S. 27-15-101 through 27-15-103, inclusive
24  may be enjoined by any court of competent jurisdiction. An

Page 10

 

 

 

 1  action for injunctive relief under this subsection may be
 2  brought by any aggrieved person or entity.

 3 

 4         Section 2.  This act is effective July 1, 2001.

 5 

 6                         (END)

 

Page 11