Random Drug Testing

Random workplace drug testing is either conducted on a “neutral-selection” basis without advance notice or tests are performed on all employees in a company (or a particular division of the company).

The date and time of the testing are unannounced and randomly selected.

Also called the “spot” method, random drug testing is seen as an effective deterrent to drug use in the workplace because it is performed on an unannounced basis. Random testing may include a general lot testing of employees without notice, or for cause testing in which circumstances have made it necessary to screen an individual.

DrugTesting.com’s random drug test selection process ensures that there are no biases in the choosing of the employees. All of them—regardless of their previous results, if any—get a fair chance of being subjected to random employee drug testing.

In a random screen, a handful of employees are informed they need to report for testing. They usually receive this notice at some time during their workday and are given a deadline to have it done by, there is no warning or pre notification for this type of testing. The random test also does not have any specific indications for the drug screening.

The following chart outlines the annual minimum drug and alcohol random testing rates established within Department of Transportation agencies and the US Coast Guard:

Boulder, CO (City Ordinance) — Prohibited.

California (safety sensitive) — Limits random testing to safety sensitive and prohibits it entirely in San Francisco.

Connecticut — “. . . an employer may require an employee to submit to a urinalysis drug test on a random basis if (1) such test is authorized under federal law, (2) the employee serves in an occupation which has been designated as a high-risk or safety-sensitive occupation pursuant to regulations adopted by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to chapter 54, or (3) the urinalysis is conducted as part of an employee assistance program sponsored or authorized by the employer in which the employee voluntarily participates.”

Maine — “[A]n employer may require, request or suggest that an employee submit to a substance abuse test on a random or arbitrary basis if at least one of the following conditions is met:

a. The employer and the employee have bargained for provisions in a collective bargaining agreement, either before or after the effective date of this subchapter, that provide for random or arbitrary testing of employees; or

b. The employee works in a position the nature of which would create an unreasonable threat to the health or safety of the public or the employee’s co-workers if the employee were under the influence of a substance of abuse. It is the intent of the Legislature that the requirements of this paragraph be narrowly construed.”

Massachusetts — Safety Sensitive Only.

Minnesota — An employer may request or require only employees in safety-sensitive positions to undergo drug and alcohol testing on a random selection basis.

Montana — An employer may use random testing if the employer’s controlled substance and alcohol policy includes one or both of the following procedures:

a. An employer or an employer’s representative may establish a date when all salaried and wage-earning employees will be required to undergo controlled substance or alcohol tests, or both.

b. An employer may manage or contract with a third party to establish and administer a random testing process that must include:

i. an established calendar period for testing;

ii. an established testing rate within the calendar period;

iii. a random selection process that will determine who will be tested on any given date during the calendar period for testing;

iv. all supervisory and managerial employees in the random selection and testing process; and

v. a procedure that requires the employer to obtain a signed statement from each employee that confirms that the employee has received a written description of the random selection process and that requires the employer to maintain the statement in the employee’s personnel file. The selection of employees in a random testing procedure must be made by a scientifically valid method, such as a random number table or a computer-based random number generator table.

New Jersey — Limited.

Rhode Island — Prohibited.

Vermont — Limited.