Drug Testing in Indiana

Private Employers Generally May Require Drug Testing

Indiana Department of Labor guidance has stated that employers generally may require employees to be drug tested as a condition of hiring and may administer random drug testing during employment to enforce a drug-free workplace.

Indiana is also an employment-at-will state. Current Department of Labor guidance explains that, absent a contract or collective bargaining agreement providing otherwise, employers generally may set workplace policies at their discretion so long as they do not violate applicable discrimination or other law.

• Use a written policy that identifies who is subject to testing.
• State the reasons for testing and consequences of refusal or a positive result.
• Apply testing rules consistently to similarly situated employees and applicants.
• Use reliable laboratory confirmation and Medical Review Officer review where appropriate.
• Address prescription-medication and disability issues carefully.
• Check federal rules for DOT and other regulated positions.

Indiana sources: Indiana Department of Labor — Employee Privacy / Drug Testing Guidance and IN.gov — Indiana Employment-at-Will FAQ .

Indiana State Government Uses Position-Based Testing

Indiana’s State Personnel Department maintains a separate drug and alcohol testing framework for state employees. CDL-covered employees are subject to federally regulated testing that includes pre-employment, random, reasonable-suspicion, post-accident, return-to-duty, and follow-up testing.

For non-DOT state employees, a Testing Designated Position is one the agency identifies as a position for which pre-employment and random testing is legally permissible. Indiana also states that any state employee may be subject to reasonable-suspicion testing under the applicable state protocol.

Official source: Indiana State Personnel Department — Drug and Alcohol Testing

Indiana Workforce Recovery: A Voluntary Second-Chance Model

Indiana enacted House Enrolled Act 1007 in 2018 and directed the state to develop employer best-practice guidelines for qualified applicants and current employees who test positive for alcohol or drugs.

Indiana’s current Workforce Recovery program explains that the guidelines are intended to help employers adopt a standardized second-chance process in which a qualified individual may participate in appropriate drug education and/or addiction treatment.

Participation is voluntary. Indiana states that employers and employees who comply with the best-practice framework may obtain specified protection from negligent-hiring liability associated with the participating employee.

Official source: Indiana Commission to Combat Substance Use Disorder — Employers

State Contractors May Need Drug-Free Workplace Certification

Indiana procurement guidance states that the Drug-Free Workplace Certification clause required by Executive Order 90-5 applies to individuals and private legal entities receiving grants or contracts from Indiana state agencies.

The current procurement manual notes that the clause applies to the contractor’s employees within Indiana. Employers doing business with the State should therefore review the actual solicitation and contract requirements rather than relying only on their ordinary private-employer policy.

Official source: Indiana Department of Administration — Procurement Manual

Workers’ Compensation Premium Reduction May Be Available

Indiana Code §72-1716 provides that a workers’ compensation premium reduction may be granted when the insurer determines that the insured has established and maintains an alcohol- and drug-free workplace program complying with §§72-1701 through 72-1715.

Indiana Code reference: Indiana Code §72-1716

State Construction Contractors Must Maintain a Compliant Program

Indiana Code §72-1717 requires contractors seeking state contracts for construction or improvement of public property or publicly owned buildings to maintain a drug-free workplace program that complies with Chapter 17 throughout the contract.

Covered contractors must subcontract only to subcontractors meeting the same requirement and must submit an affidavit with the bid verifying compliance.

Indiana Code reference: Indiana Code §72-1717

Marijuana and THC Remain Schedule I Controlled Substances

Current Indiana appellate authority confirms that Indiana law continues to include marijuana and THC as Schedule I controlled substances. Indiana law separately excludes qualifying hemp, defined by the statutory delta-9 THC concentration threshold.

This distinction is important because legal hemp products and illegal marijuana are not the same thing under Indiana law even though both derive from cannabis.

Current Indiana judicial source: Court of Appeals of Indiana — 2026 decision discussing marijuana, THC and hemp

Indiana Employers May Continue to Include THC

Because Indiana has not enacted broad adult-use or medical-marijuana employment protections, private employers generally may continue to include marijuana/THC in an otherwise lawful workplace drug-testing policy.

• State marijuana legalization does not create an Indiana off-duty cannabis protection.
• Employers should clearly identify whether THC is included in the panel.
• Policies should distinguish the laboratory result from separate evidence of present impairment when that distinction matters to the employer’s decision.
• Hemp and cannabinoid products can create practical testing issues because a THC-positive laboratory result does not identify the retail source of exposure.
• No-THC panels are available when an employer intentionally excludes marijuana from a lawful non-DOT program.
• DOT marijuana testing remains governed by federal requirements.

DOT Rules Are Separate from Non-DOT Testing

A personal or employer non-DOT drug test should not be substituted for a test that is 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.
• 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.