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Employer on-Site Drug Tests Won't Be Controlled This Year

Posted on: Monday, 24 October 2005, 21:00 CDT

By Paula Burkes Erickson, The Daily Oklahoman

Oct. 23--A paperwork glitch will keep a new law from taking effect Nov. 1 that would have made it illegal for employers to conduct on-site drug testing unless they are licensed by the state Health Department.

But the bill's author vows to reintroduce the measure in the next legislative session.

Under current law, employers can conduct on-site urine tests for alcohol and illicit drugs, including opiates, marijuana, phencyclidine (PCP), cocaine, heroin and amphetamines. If the tests are negative, they can start job applicants immediately or return randomly tested employees back to the job site. If tests are positive, they must be sent for confirmation to outside labs, which typically use more sophisticated instruments to screen samples in batches.

On-site tests -- which are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- save employers money and time, according to the National On-Site Testing Association in California. They produce answers in five minutes and cost about $7 each, compared with two days at a clinic and $20 to $60, plus lost labor costs, a spokesman said.

But Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, doesn't believe the current state standards meet the rest of the nation's. That's why he and Sen. Randy Bass, D-Lawton, authored Senate Bill 374, which bans on-site employer testing and carries civil and criminal penalties for violators. Their bill was passed by state lawmakers and signed by the governor, but an administrative oversight will keep it from taking effect.

Housekeeping language requested by the state Department of Public Safety and later passed in a separate measure, House Bill 1502, addressed the same section of law -- an exception for employer testing that Dorman's bill struck -- and the staff didn't catch it, said Brad Wolgamott, house research analyst.

When different bills tend to counteract each other, the most recent bill takes precedence, said Charlie Price, attorney general spokesman.

Meanwhile, the state Health Department is readying for the Nov. 1 effective date.

"Our contention is the bill will take effect, and we need to be prepared," said Tom Welin, chief of medical facilities.

There are 87 licensed testing sites statewide, Welin said. Applicants must pay a $150 licensing fee and meet numerous standards, including training for handlers and chain of custody requirements.

"It doesn't make any sense that on-site employers don't have to follow the same rules that we do," said an administrator of a licensed collection site in Oklahoma City, speaking on condition of anonymity. The concern in the industry, she said, is that a lot of positive tests aren't being sent out for confirmation.

Dorman said he intends to reintroduce the bill next session. "We'll sit down with industry, and if it's still good policy, we'll pursue it," he said.

ConocoPhillips voiced opposition to the measure after it was passed, Dorman said. The company had no comment.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City labor attorney Jim Priest of Whitten, Nelson, McGuire, Terry & Roselius advises employers who are conducting on-site tests to comply with the testing standards and watch for the legislation Dorman promises to refile.

"You are taking some risk, but from a practical standpoint it's a minimal risk given the passage of HB 1502 and the attorney general's position," Priest said. But he warned employers who do on-site testing to watch for the legislation Dorman promises.

It's an employer's option to conduct drug testing. However, those that do must follow state standards for testing.

Half of major U.S. companies now test their employees, and more than 500 school districts have screening programs, studies show.

OGE Energy Corp. collects on-site urine samples for some 60 percent to 70 percent of its random drug tests, spokeswoman Sandra Longcrier said. "But we always send out for analysis," Longcrier said.

Even under the new law, employers still could do on-site collection.

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COP, OGE,

Source: The Daily Oklahoman

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