Legal Question in Employment Law in Florida

Re: drug testing

If you work for a private company---as opposed to a city, county, state, etc--then your employer is not legally regulated if they drug test you--and as such they have no olbigations in these circumstances. The only caveat may be if you drive a truck or otherwise work in the transportation industry and are subject to OSHA or DOT regulations.

Re: drug testing

If your employer is covered by the state workers' compensation laws (most are), and has implemented a drug-free workplace program under the workers' comp. laws, then there are regulations that the employer must follow. (The reason employers do this is to get certain workers' comp. discounts.) This includes providing the results of positive tests, and providing documentation for the reasons behind reasonable suspicion testing. In other words, if they tested you because they suspected drugs (as opposed to random or fitness for duty testing), they have to give you an explanation. You say yours was random, so this is not an issue for you.

There is no requirement that the employer give you the results of a negative test. Of course, if the test is negative, there is nothing to see and you simply go about your business.

I suppose one could make an argument that drug results are medical information that might fall under the ADA or HIPAA or some other law that requires more disclosure, but those are untested theories as far as I know. (There are also some issues under the Fair Credit Reporting Act regarding investigatory tests of which drug testing might be included.)

I would need to know exactly what is happening and why you want the info. before I could give any more useful advice. Feel free to call for a complimentary consult to discuss the matter.

Good luck.

Jeff Sheldon

Jeffrey L. Sheldon, Esquire

The Sheldon Law Firm

17804 St. Lucia Isle Drive

Tampa, FL 33647

813.986.7580

(f) 813.986.7489

(Admitted in Fl., MD, D.C., and Pa.)

[email protected]

http://www.SheldonLawFirm.com

Disclaimer: This posting does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. It is not confidential, nor is it privileged, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please consult with an attorney for advice specific to the facts of your case.