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181.951 AUTHORIZED DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING.
    Subdivision 1. Limitations on testing. (a) An employer may not request or require an
employee or job applicant to undergo drug and alcohol testing except as authorized in this section.
(b) An employer may not request or require an employee or job applicant to undergo drug or
alcohol testing unless the testing is done pursuant to a written drug and alcohol testing policy that
contains the minimum information required in section 181.952; and, is conducted by a testing
laboratory which participates in one of the programs listed in section 181.953, subdivision 1.
(c) An employer may not request or require an employee or job applicant to undergo drug
and alcohol testing on an arbitrary and capricious basis.
    Subd. 2. Job applicant testing. An employer may request or require a job applicant to
undergo drug and alcohol testing provided a job offer has been made to the applicant and the
same test is requested or required of all job applicants conditionally offered employment for
that position. If the job offer is withdrawn, as provided in section 181.953, subdivision 11, the
employer shall inform the job applicant of the reason for its action.
    Subd. 3. Routine physical examination testing. An employer may request or require an
employee to undergo drug and alcohol testing as part of a routine physical examination provided
the drug or alcohol test is requested or required no more than once annually and the employee
has been given at least two weeks' written notice that a drug or alcohol test may be requested or
required as part of the physical examination.
    Subd. 4. Random testing. An employer may request or require employees to undergo drug
and alcohol testing on a random selection basis only if (1) they are employed in safety-sensitive
positions, or (2) they are employed as professional athletes if the professional athlete is subject to
a collective bargaining agreement permitting random testing but only to the extent consistent with
the collective bargaining agreement.
    Subd. 5. Reasonable suspicion testing. An employer may request or require an employee to
undergo drug and alcohol testing if the employer has a reasonable suspicion that the employee:
(1) is under the influence of drugs or alcohol;
(2) has violated the employer's written work rules prohibiting the use, possession, sale, or
transfer of drugs or alcohol while the employee is working or while the employee is on the
employer's premises or operating the employer's vehicle, machinery, or equipment, provided the
work rules are in writing and contained in the employer's written drug and alcohol testing policy;
(3) has sustained a personal injury, as that term is defined in section 176.011, subdivision 16,
or has caused another employee to sustain a personal injury; or
(4) has caused a work-related accident or was operating or helping to operate machinery,
equipment, or vehicles involved in a work-related accident.
    Subd. 6. Treatment program testing. An employer may request or require an employee to
undergo drug and alcohol testing if the employee has been referred by the employer for chemical
dependency treatment or evaluation or is participating in a chemical dependency treatment
program under an employee benefit plan, in which case the employee may be requested or
required to undergo drug or alcohol testing without prior notice during the evaluation or treatment
period and for a period of up to two years following completion of any prescribed chemical
dependency treatment program.
    Subd. 7. No legal duty to test. Employers do not have a legal duty to request or require an
employee or job applicant to undergo drug or alcohol testing as authorized in this section.
History: 1987 c 388 s 2; 1988 c 536 s 1; 1991 c 60 s 5; 2005 c 133 s 1

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes