Order a Drug Test in California

Pre-Employment Drug Testing in California

California Employment Development Department guidance states that a private employer may condition an offer of employment on the results of a medical examination that includes drug or alcohol testing, provided applicants for similar positions are treated consistently and the testing otherwise complies with applicable law.

• Use consistent procedures for applicants seeking similar positions.
• Define the testing reason, substances, specimen, and decision process before ordering.
• Do not ask covered applicants about prior cannabis use when Government Code §12954 prohibits the inquiry.
• Do not treat a result showing only nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites as an automatic disqualifier for a covered applicant.
• Document any federal, state, industry, contract, or security-clearance requirement.
• Keep DOT and ordinary non-DOT testing separate.

Selecting a California Non-DOT Panel

Traditional urine marijuana testing commonly detects nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites associated with prior use. Government Code §12954 generally restricts covered employers from using that type of result as the basis for an adverse employment decision.

• No-THC panels are available when marijuana testing is not appropriate.
• THC-inclusive panels may fit personal testing or legally exempt employment situations.
• A scientifically valid pre-employment test that does not screen for nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites is treated differently under §12954.
• Current-employee random or suspicionless testing requires separate privacy and job-duty analysis.
• Federal DOT testing must use the federally required procedures and panel.

Select the panel and enter the donor information first. After the case is created, checkout searches available collection sites using the California city, ZIP code, or area entered for the donor.

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Pre-Employment Testing

California EDD guidance states that a private employer may condition an offer of employment on the results of a medical examination that includes drug or alcohol testing, provided applicants in similar positions are treated consistently and the testing otherwise complies with applicable law.

Cannabis requires separate analysis. Government Code §12954 generally protects covered applicants from discrimination based on off-duty cannabis use or a test that shows only nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites. The statute expressly distinguishes scientifically valid pre-employment testing methods that do not screen for those metabolites.

Official sources: California EDD — Suitable Work / Preemployment Physicals and California Government Code §12954

Current-Employee Testing and Privacy

Drug testing can implicate privacy interests under the California Constitution. California courts have treated applicant testing and current-employee testing differently, and suspicionless testing of current employees can require a stronger justification depending on the employer, job duties, safety concerns, and testing method.

Public employers also face Fourth Amendment restrictions. Private employers should evaluate reasonable expectations of privacy and the strength of the business or safety interest supporting a random or suspicionless test before implementing that type of program.

Case-law reference: California Supreme Court — Loder v. City of Glendale

Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

California Labor Code §1025 requires every private employer regularly employing 25 or more employees to reasonably accommodate an employee who wishes to voluntarily enter and participate in an alcohol or drug rehabilitation program, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer.

The statute does not prevent an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee who, because of current alcohol or drug use, cannot perform the job or cannot perform it without endangering health or safety.

Official source: California Labor Code §1025

Drug-Test Information and Medical Privacy

Drug-testing information can contain sensitive medical and behavioral information. Employers should limit access to test results, disclose information only as permitted, and use results only for lawful employment purposes.

California case law recognizes that urinalysis can reveal private information beyond the particular substance an employer intended to test for, which is one reason policy design, collection procedures, medical review, and limited disclosure matter.

Case-law reference: California Supreme Court — Loder v. City of Glendale

San Francisco Adds Local Restrictions

Employers should check local law where the employee works. San Francisco Labor and Employment Code §51.5 generally prohibits random or company-wide blood or urine testing of covered current employees.

Testing a specific covered employee is permitted only when the local ordinance’s stated conditions are satisfied, including reasonable grounds to believe the employee’s faculties are impaired on the job, duties where that impairment presents a clear and present danger to physical safety, and an employer-paid opportunity for independent testing or evaluation and rebuttal.

Local source: San Francisco Labor and Employment Code §51.5

Federal and Industry Rules Can Control

California privacy and cannabis protections do not replace mandatory federal testing rules. Employers should identify whether DOT regulations, a federal contract, federal funding, federal licensing, a federal background investigation, a security clearance, or another industry-specific requirement changes the testing analysis.

Government Code §12954 itself preserves testing required under state or federal law and specified federal funding, licensing, contract, background-investigation, and security-clearance requirements.

Official sources: California Government Code §12954 and U.S. DOT — 49 CFR Part 40

Off-Duty Cannabis Use Is Protected for Most Covered Workers

Government Code §12954 generally makes it unlawful for a covered employer to discriminate in hiring, termination, or another term or condition of employment because a person used cannabis off the job and away from the workplace.

The same section generally prohibits adverse employment action based on an employer-required test that found only nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites in hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids.

Official sources: California Government Code §12954 and California Civil Rights Department — Cannabis Employment FAQ

Employers May Still Require Drug Screening

The California Civil Rights Department states that employers may still require applicants to take a drug screening test. The critical issue is what the test measures and what employment decision is made from it.

Government Code §12954 expressly allows an employer to make an employment decision based on scientifically valid pre-employment drug screening conducted through methods that do not screen for nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites, subject to other applicable law.

Official sources: California Civil Rights Department — Discrimination in Employment: Use of Cannabis and California Government Code §12954

Employers Generally Cannot Ask About Prior Cannabis Use

Government Code §12954 generally makes it unlawful for a covered employer to request information from a job applicant about the applicant’s prior cannabis use.

Information about prior cannabis use obtained from criminal history is subject to separate rules, including California’s Fair Chance Act and other state or federal law.

Official source: California Government Code §12954

Important Exceptions

• Section 12954 does not protect workplace possession, use, or impairment.
• The protections do not apply to employees in the building and construction trades.
• They do not apply to specified positions requiring a federal background investigation or security clearance.
• They do not preempt state or federal laws requiring controlled-substance testing.
• They do not override testing tied to federal funding, federal licensing-related benefits, or federal contracts.
• Employers retain rights and obligations to maintain drug- and alcohol-free workplaces.

Official source: California Government Code §12954

DOT Rules Are Separate from Non-DOT Testing

A personal or employer non-DOT drug test should not be substituted for a test required under DOT regulations. DOT programs have specific requirements for test reasons, forms, collection procedures, laboratories, Medical Review Officers, refusals, records, and return-to-duty processes.

Federal source: U.S. Department of Transportation — 49 CFR Part 40

Examples of DOT-Regulated Industries

• Commercial motor carriers regulated by FMCSA — see DTC FMCSA resources.
• Aviation employers regulated by FAA.
• Railroad employers regulated by FRA.
• Public transit employers regulated by FTA.
• Pipeline operators regulated by PHMSA.
• Other covered transportation operations under federal rules — see DTC DOT regulations and DTC DOT drug testing.