Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §682, sub-§7, ķA, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 536, §§1 and 2 and affected by c. 604, §§2 and 3, is amended to read:

A. "Screening test" means an initial substance abuse test performed through the use of immunoassay technology, or a test technology of similar or greater accuracy and reliability approved by the Department of Human Services under rules adopted under section 687, and which is used as a preliminary step in detecting the presence of substances of abuse.

(1)__A screening test of an applicant's urine or saliva may be performed at the point of collection through the use of a noninstrumented point of collection test device approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration, provided that any sample tested with such a device that results in a negative test result must be destroyed.__If such a test device is used, the provisions of section 683, subsections 6, 7 and 8 do not apply and section 683, subsection 5 applies only to samples that resulted in a positive test result.

SUMMARY

This bill amends the law relating to substance abuse testing of job applicants to allow employers to perform a screening test using a rapid response test method in order to quickly determine whether to have an applicant undergo a confirmation test.

Screening tests allowed under current law take several days to yield a result. If a screening test is positive, the applicant must then submit to a confirmation test process. This bill would allow a result on a screening test to be obtained immediately. If the result is negative, the sample would be destroyed and the applicant may begin work immediately. If the result is positive, the applicant will undergo a confirmation test.

This bill does not alter protections provided under current law, including requirements that an employer have a written testing policy approved by the Department of Labor, confidentiality and limits on the use of test results. As under current law, an applicant may not be denied employment solely on the basis of a screening test. Only a positive confirmation test may be used as a factor in denying employment.