Admissions of Drug Use By Employees Are Not The Same As Positive Test Results in Minnesota
A common occurrence when employees are confronted with a requirement to
take a drug test: they often confess. Sometimes they suggest that the employer
need not bother with the test because they know they will test positive. Under
the Minnesota Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (“DATWA”), admissions
of drug use and a positive drug test have very different legal ramifications.
In Minnesota, “an employer may not discharge an employee for whom a positive
drug test result . . . was the first such result for the employee
on a drug or alcohol test requested by the employer” unless the employee has
been given the opportunity to participate in and complete a drug counseling
or rehabilitation program.
W. Barry Nixon is the COO, PreemploymentDirectory.com the leading background screening information portal and online worldwide directory of professional background screening firms and Suppliers to the background screening industry. He co-authored the landmark book, Background Screening & Investigations: Managing Hiring Risk from the HR and Security Perspective. He also is the publisher of award winning newsletters, The Background Buzz and The Global Background Screener, and the author of the Background Checks column in PI Magazine.
In addition, Barry is a past recipient of the elite ‘Top 25 Influential People in Security’ by Security Magazine and past Co-Chair, International Committee for the National Association for Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). He currently serves as a Global Ambassador for NAPBS.
You can contact Barry at 1-949-770-5264 or online at wbnixon@preemploymentdirectory.com