Title 49. State Administration

Chapter 14. Drug Testing

Part I. General Provisions

49:1002      Applicability

A. This Chapter applies to testing for the presence of marijuana, opioids, cocaine, amphetamines, and phencyclidine.

B. This Chapter does not preclude or regulate the testing for drugs other than those specified in Subsection A of this Section or other controlled substances as defined in 21 U.S.C. 812, Schedules I, II, III, IV, and alcohol.

C. This Chapter shall not apply to treatment centers or physicians using drug testing to diagnose or monitor their patients, nor to any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the production and distribution of gas or electricity that is regulated by the Louisiana Public Service Commission.

D. This Chapter shall not apply to drug testing conducted under legal authority including testing of persons in the criminal justice systems, such as arrestees, detainees, probationers, incarcerated persons, or parolees.

E. This Chapter shall not apply to drug testing mandated by Federal Executive Order 12564.

F. This Chapter shall not apply to drug testing conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or the National Football League (NFL).

G. This Chapter shall not apply to any athlete who is currently being drug tested under the auspices of any recognized international, national, regional, or state governing authority.

H. This Chapter shall not apply to any person, firm, or corporation engaged or employed in the exploration, drilling, or production of oil or gas in Louisiana or its territorial waters. The initial cut-off level for marijuana testing of fifty nanograms per milliliter as provided in R.S. 49:1005(B) may be reduced or modified by any person, firm, or corporation engaged in construction, maintenance, or manufacturing at any refining or chemical manufacturing facility.

I. This Chapter shall not apply to any employer or an employer’s agent who uses an on-site screening test to test an employee or prospective employee when there are no negative employment consequences as defined in this Chapter. As used in this Subsection, “on-site screening test” is a screening test which is easily portable and which can be administered in a location outside a laboratory such as a work site or elsewhere and is certified by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for commercial distribution and which meets generally accepted cutoff levels such as those in the mandatory guidelines for federal workplace drug testing programs.

J. This Chapter does not preclude an employer or an employer’s agent from utilizing a USFDA-cleared specimen testing method that uses a sample as defined in R.S. 49:1001 provided that such sample is processed in a laboratory with a SAMHSA, CAP-FUDT, or CAP-FDT certification using generally accepted cutoff levels as established by the USFDA for the type of sample tested, or by SAMHSA at such time when SAMHSA implements a final rule to regulate the type of sample test. Any sample collected shall be subject to USFDA-cleared immunoassay screening and confirmation testing at a SAMHSA-certified, CAP-FUDT-certified, or CAP-FDT-certified laboratory. Such samples that test positive shall be preserved by the laboratory and available for challenge testing at the request of the donor. No sample shall be used to collect or analyze DNA.

Added by Acts 1990, No. 1036, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1991. Amended by Acts 2001, No. 855, § 1; Acts 2004, No. 901, § 1, eff. July 12, 2004; Acts 2006, No. 209, § 1; Acts 2008, No. 150, § 1; Acts 2015, No. 74, § 1.