
Be Part of the Ultimate Safety & Compliance Community
Trending news, knowledge-building content, and more – all personalized to you!
: |
A workplace test for alcohol is more tightly regulated under federal law than a test for drugs. This is because a test for alcohol is considered a medical exam under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). From an ADA point of view, a medical exam is a procedure or test that seeks information about an individual’s physical or mental impairments or health. This includes blood, urine, and breath analyses to check for alcohol use.
A medical exam can only be given at certain times in the hiring process and during employment, such as:
Because of these restrictions, a test for alcohol should only be conducted:
A medical exam may NOT be given at the application stage. An employer may not ask a job applicant to answer medical questions or take a medical exam before making a job offer. Because of this, job applicants should not be routinely tested for alcohol. A test for alcohol could be conducted after a job offer is made, if the employer would like.
A workplace test for alcohol is more tightly regulated under federal law than a test for drugs. This is because a test for alcohol is considered a medical exam under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). From an ADA point of view, a medical exam is a procedure or test that seeks information about an individual’s physical or mental impairments or health. This includes blood, urine, and breath analyses to check for alcohol use.
A medical exam can only be given at certain times in the hiring process and during employment, such as:
Because of these restrictions, a test for alcohol should only be conducted:
A medical exam may NOT be given at the application stage. An employer may not ask a job applicant to answer medical questions or take a medical exam before making a job offer. Because of this, job applicants should not be routinely tested for alcohol. A test for alcohol could be conducted after a job offer is made, if the employer would like.