Order a Drug Test in Tennessee

Pre-Employment Drug Testing in Tennessee

A private employer generally may make employment conditional on a negative drug test when the requirement is lawful, communicated clearly, and applied consistently. A certified covered employer must require a drug test after a conditional offer, although it may limit applicant testing to reasonable classifications. Alcohol testing at this stage is optional under the state program.

• Give clear advance notice of the testing requirement.
• Use job-related, neutral criteria for covered positions.
• Apply the same criteria to similarly situated applicants.
• Use documented collection and chain-of-custody procedures.
• Use an approved laboratory and confirm non-negative screens.
• Route positive laboratory results through a Medical Review Officer.
• Keep test and medical information confidential.
• Verify that a certified program’s panel and cutoffs meet Tennessee requirements.
• Review federal, discrimination, contract, and collective-bargaining rules.

Certified Employer Testing Programs

Tennessee-certified participants must use pre-employment drug testing and qualifying post-accident, reasonable-suspicion, routine fitness-for-duty, and follow-up testing. Random testing is permitted but not required. The written policy should explain who is covered, substances tested, testing reasons, specimen and laboratory procedures, refusals, confirmation and review, consequences, records, and confidentiality.

• Use a neutral selection process for any random program.
• Document reasonable-suspicion details within 24 hours and provide a copy on request.
• For an emergency post-accident event, obtain necessary medical care before collection.
• Follow the program’s conditions for fitness-for-duty and follow-up testing.
• Give employees the required training and supervisors the additional training.
• Obtain the required annual written employee acknowledgment.
• Keep DOT and non-DOT programs, forms, and records separate.
• State how refusals, adulteration, and substituted specimens are handled.
• Use approved laboratory confirmation and Medical Review Officer review.
• Limit disclosure to personnel with a business need to know.

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

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Private Employers and Voluntary Certification

Private employers generally may use pre-employment and employee testing under a lawful, consistently administered policy. Most employers are not required to join Tennessee’s certified Drug-Free Workplace Program. An employer that elects certification, however, must satisfy the program’s policy, education, testing, laboratory, Medical Review Officer, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements.

Official source: Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation — Drug-Free Workplace Program

Written Policy, Training, and Acknowledgment

A certified employer must give employees a written policy before testing. Bureau guidance calls for at least one hour of employee education once, within 60 days of program implementation or hire, and an additional two hours of training once for supervisors. The employer must retain training records and obtain a written employee awareness acknowledgment annually.

The policy should identify prohibited conduct, covered workers, testing reasons, collection and laboratory procedures, refusals, confirmation and medical review, consequences, confidentiality, and assistance information.

Official sources: Tennessee DFWP Training and Application and Information Kit

Certified Testing, Laboratories, and Review

Certified participants must use pre-employment drug testing and qualifying post-accident, reasonable-suspicion, routine fitness-for-duty, and follow-up testing. Random testing is allowed but not required. Reasonable-suspicion details must be documented in writing within 24 hours, and necessary treatment comes before specimen collection after an emergency.

Testing must use a laboratory licensed or approved as recognized by the program, non-negative screens require confirmation, and positive laboratory results go to a Medical Review Officer before the employer receives a verified result. Tennessee also publishes the drugs and cutoffs used for certified programs.

Official sources: Tennessee DFWP Requirements, Drug Testing and Cutoffs, and Program FAQs

Unemployment Consequences

T.C.A. § 50-7-303 treats discharge resulting from a positive drug test administered in conformity with Title 50, Chapter 9 as misconduct connected with work. A supported refusal to take an authorized test can also qualify as misconduct. The statute separately addresses a job offer withdrawn because of a refusal or positive result.

The disqualification continues until the claimant has covered reemployment and earns wages equal to ten times the weekly benefit amount. Eligibility decisions remain fact-specific and are made by the responsible state agency.

State law: T.C.A. § 50-7-303

Workers’ Compensation Advantages

A certified Drug-Free Workplace employer is entitled to a 5% workers’ compensation premium credit. If an injured employee fails a qualifying post-accident drug or alcohol test, the tested substance is presumed to be the proximate cause of the injury and the employee must rebut that presumption with clear and convincing evidence.

These certification advantages depend on compliance with the program; a laboratory result, causation determination, and final benefits decision are not interchangeable.

Official source: Tennessee DFWP — About the Program and Benefits

Construction Contracts and Federal Rules

An employer with at least five paid employees that contracts with Tennessee or a local government to provide construction services must submit a sworn affidavit stating that it has a drug-free workplace program complying with Tennessee Code Title 50, Chapter 9. The solicitation may include additional submission instructions.

DOT-covered transportation testing must follow 49 CFR Part 40 and the applicable agency rule. Government, union, federally regulated, licensed, or grant-funded workplaces may have other mandatory procedures. Keep federally mandated testing separate from a general non-DOT program.

Sources: T.C.A. § 50-9-113 and U.S. DOT — 49 CFR Part 40

Adult-Use Marijuana Remains Illegal

Marijuana containing more than 0.3% THC remains illegal under Tennessee law. The state has not legalized general adult-use possession or retail sales. Employers should avoid describing Tennessee as a recreational-use state or assuming that an out-of-state authorization controls a Tennessee workplace decision.

Official source: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation — Hemp and Marijuana

Narrow Low-THC CBD Oil Exception

Tennessee law contains a narrow exception for CBD oil containing less than 0.9% THC when specified qualifying-condition, labeling, attestation, and other statutory requirements are met. This limited exception is not a general medical-marijuana card or dispensary program and should not be described as broad employment protection.

Employers should evaluate any disability, accommodation, prescription, contract, or federal-law issue on its own facts instead of assuming that state CBD legality decides the employment outcome.

Official source: Tennessee General Assembly — Public Chapter 577 / SB 118

Hemp Products Can Still Create Test Risk

Tennessee distinguishes hemp from marijuana by THC concentration and regulates hemp-derived cannabinoid products. A product with no more than 0.3% total THC may be lawful when all other requirements are met, while a product above that threshold is illegal. Legal status does not guarantee product purity or a negative drug test.

Employees and applicants should understand that repeated use of a lawful hemp or CBD product containing THC can create a marijuana-metabolite result. Employers should state their testing panel and consequences clearly and administer the policy consistently.

Official source: Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission — Hemp-Derived Cannabinoid Product FAQs

Workplace Policy and Certified Panels

Tennessee’s certified Drug-Free Workplace Program publishes a required drug list that includes marijuana and requires Medical Review Officer review of positive laboratory results. A no-THC panel should not be assumed to satisfy state certification. Employers outside the program should choose THC or no THC deliberately under a lawful written policy.

A urine marijuana result can reflect prior exposure and does not, by itself, establish when use occurred or whether the donor is currently impaired. DOT-regulated employers must follow federal marijuana-testing rules, including 49 CFR Part 40 and the applicable agency regulation.

Official sources: Tennessee DFWP — Drug Testing and Cutoffs and Tennessee DFWP FAQs

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.