Workplace drug testing issues – State Laws – Pennsylvania
These categories do not affect DOT-regulated drug testing. Government employers should always call for potential additional restrictions on employee drug testing.
These categories do not affect DOT-regulated drug testing. Government employers should always call for potential additional restrictions on employee drug testing.
Drug Testing Issue | Status | Comments |
---|---|---|
Instant or POCT Testing | No Restrictions | |
Drug Panels | No Restrictions | |
Laboratory | No Restrictions | |
Medical Review Officer | Not Required | Always recommended to reduce exposure to liability. |
Random Testing | No Restrictions | |
Post-Accident | No Restrictions | Establish objective criteria that will trigger a post-accident test and how and by whom such tests will be administered. |
Reasonable Suspicion | No Restrictions | |
Oral Fluids | No Restrictions | |
Hair Testing | No Restrictions | |
Unemployment Denial | Yes | Address in company policy including refusal to test. |
Workers Comp Discount | No | |
Intoxication Defense | Yes | No compensation when injury caused by employee using illegal drugs. |
Medical Marijuana | Yes, limited laws | Prohibits smoking of marijuana. Ensure that drug testing policies make it clear that testing positive for an illegal drug u2013 including medical marijuana u2013 is a policy violation, and that the employer reserves the right to take adverse action based upon such test results to the fullest extent permitted under the law. |
Recreational Marijuana | No | |
Report Driver DOT Positives | No | |
General Statute | -- | Pennsylvania has no law addressing drug testing in private employment. |
Unemployment Denial – § 802. Ineligibility for compensation
Workers Comp Discount – 77 P.S. § 431
Intoxication Defense – Denial of Workers Compensation Claim – States vary in their willingness to allow employers to use an injured worker’s intoxication as a defense against a claim for compensation. State laws’ intoxication defenses generally fall into one of three rough categories: defenses that do not depend on causation; defenses that require some form of proximate causation between intoxication and injury; and defenses that require that intoxication be the sole cause of injury. Always check with your insurance company and your attorney when you have a refusal or positive post-accident test after an injury.
This chart is intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for legal guidance. State and local laws vary greatly; therefore, you are advised to consult experienced legal counsel during the development or edit of your actual substance abuse testing program and with any questions that follow.
State Law Pennsylvania