Order a Drug Test in Illinois

Build a Reasonable, Nondiscriminatory Program

• Use a written policy that identifies who is tested and for what reasons.
• Apply applicant, random, post-accident, and reasonable-suspicion rules consistently.
• State clearly whether marijuana or THC is included in the testing panel.
• Use laboratory confirmation and Medical Review Officer procedures appropriate to the program.
• Document specific, articulable symptoms when an employment decision is based on cannabis impairment.
• Give an employee a reasonable opportunity to contest an impairment determination when Section 10-50 applies.

Applicant Testing and Job Offers

Section 10-50 expressly recognizes reasonable drug and alcohol testing of applicants under a reasonable workplace drug policy. The statute also identifies withdrawal of a job offer due to a failed drug test as an action that may fall within the employer protections of the section.

Applicant testing should still be applied consistently and coordinated with disability law, collective-bargaining obligations, federal rules, and other applicable employment requirements.

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Reasonable Workplace Drug Testing Is Expressly Preserved

Illinois’ Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, 410 ILCS 705/10-50, expressly preserves an employer’s ability to adopt reasonable zero-tolerance or drug-free workplace policies and employment policies concerning drug testing, smoking, consumption, storage, or cannabis use in the workplace or while on call.

Employer actions protected under a reasonable workplace drug policy may include reasonable testing of employees or applicants, reasonable and nondiscriminatory random testing, discipline or termination, and withdrawal of a job offer because of a failed drug test.

Official source: Illinois General Assembly — 410 ILCS 705/10-50

Policies Must Be Reasonable and Nondiscriminatory

Section 10-50 repeatedly ties employer protections to a reasonable workplace drug policy and nondiscriminatory application.

• Use a written policy that clearly states prohibited conduct and testing circumstances.
• Apply applicant and employee testing rules consistently.
• Define random-testing selection objectively.
• Document reasonable-suspicion and impairment observations.
• Use confirmation and Medical Review Officer procedures appropriate to the program.
• Review collective-bargaining and federal requirements when applicable.

Illinois Protects Lawful Off-Duty Products — With Cannabis Rules

The Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act, 820 ILCS 55/5, generally prohibits an employer from refusing to hire, discharging, or otherwise disadvantaging an individual because the individual uses lawful products off the employer’s premises during nonworking and non-call hours.

The statute expressly states that this protection is subject to other law, including Section 10-50 of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. Employers should therefore analyze the privacy statute and Section 10-50 together rather than assuming that off-duty cannabis use necessarily defeats a reasonable workplace drug policy.

Official sources: Illinois Department of Labor — Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act and Illinois General Assembly — 820 ILCS 55/5 .

Illinois Has a Separate Drug Free Workplace Act for State Contracts and Grants

The Illinois Drug Free Workplace Act, 30 ILCS 580, applies to qualifying State contractors and grantees. The statutory definitions include specified entities with 25 or more employees directly responsible for performance under a State contract or grant of $5,000 or more, subject to statutory exclusions.

Covered entities must certify that they will provide a drug-free workplace, publish the required employee statement, establish a drug-free awareness program, and satisfy the Act’s other compliance requirements.

Official source: Illinois General Assembly — 30 ILCS 580

Employers Do Not Have to Permit Workplace Cannabis Use or Impairment

Under 410 ILCS 705/10-50, an employer is not required to permit an employee to use cannabis or be under the influence of cannabis in the workplace, while performing job duties, or while on call.

Employers may maintain reasonable zero-tolerance and drug-free workplace policies and may discipline or terminate an employee for violating those policies.

Official source: Illinois General Assembly — 410 ILCS 705/10-50

Impairment Requires a Good-Faith, Articulable Basis

Section 10-50 allows an employer to consider an employee impaired or under the influence when the employer has a good-faith belief that the employee manifests specific, articulable symptoms while working that decrease or lessen job performance.

The statute identifies symptoms involving speech, physical dexterity, agility, coordination, demeanor, irrational or unusual behavior, negligence, equipment operation, safety, serious property damage, production disruption, and injury.

If the employer disciplines the employee based on that impairment determination, the employee must receive a reasonable opportunity to contest the basis of the determination.

Medical Cannabis Became Expressly a “Lawful Product” in 2026

Effective June 12, 2026, P.A. 104-463 added 410 ILCS 130/7, which states that qualifying medical-cannabis products purchased through a licensed dispensing organization are lawful products for purposes of the medical-cannabis Act.

This is an important current-law development, especially when read alongside the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act’s lawful-product language. It should not, however, be read in isolation from the employer provisions in 410 ILCS 130/50 and 410 ILCS 705/10-50.

Official source: Illinois General Assembly — 410 ILCS 130/7

Medical-Cannabis Employer Policies Are Still Expressly Preserved

410 ILCS 130/50 states that an employer may enforce drug-testing, zero-tolerance, and drug-free workplace policies when applied in a nondiscriminatory manner and may discipline a registered qualifying patient for violating a workplace drug policy.

The statute also uses the specific, articulable-symptoms standard for impairment and requires a reasonable opportunity to contest an impairment determination when discipline is based on that subsection.

Employers should therefore evaluate the 2026 lawful-product provision, Section 50’s employer protections, Section 10-50, and the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act together.

Official source: Illinois General Assembly — 410 ILCS 130/50

THC and No-THC Testing Options

• Illinois permits reasonable, nondiscriminatory employer cannabis-testing policies.
• Employers should state clearly whether THC is included in the non-DOT panel.
• A positive THC result and a documented impairment determination are not necessarily the same legal issue.
• No-THC panels may be appropriate when a lawful non-DOT policy intentionally excludes marijuana.
• Federal, contractual, collective-bargaining, and safety-sensitive requirements should be reviewed separately.

Federal Rules Still Apply

Section 10-50 does not interfere with federal, State, or local employment restrictions and specifically preserves applicable federal drug-testing requirements.

Employers with DOT-regulated workers, federal contracts, federal grants, or other federally controlled positions should determine whether federal law controls before applying the ordinary Illinois non-DOT policy.

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.