Source: https://www.ruaneattorneys.com/connecticut-criminal-defense/connecticut-drug-defense/connecticut-drug-testing-work/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 14:17:35+00:00

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However, the results of these tests may be challenged at trial. In addition to laboratory error and false-positives, we may be able to suppress the laboratory results because of the recent decision by the United States Supreme Court, Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 129 S. Ct. 2527 (2009). In this decision, the Supreme Court held that now, in order for laboratory tests to be admissible, the individual who actually performed the test must testify. Before this decision, this was not required. However, using the Confrontation Clause of the United States Constitution, the Supreme Court held that the Constitution requires the state to present this witness. If the State does not produce the analyst, then we may be able to suppress any laboratory testing.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-283. Analytical tests for presence of controlled drugs or alcohol. Standards and procedures. Convictions constituting prior offense. Imposition of cost when analysis performed.
(a) The Division of Scientific Services within the Department of Public Safety shall have primary responsibility for analysis of materials believed to contain controlled drugs, or of blood or urine believed to contain alcohol, for purposes of criminal prosecutions pursuant to this chapter; provided nothing herein shall be construed to preclude the use for such analyses of the services of other qualified toxicologists, pathologists and chemists, whether employed by the state or a municipality or a private facility or engaged in private practice, if such toxicologists, pathologists and chemists are engaged in operation of or employed by laboratories licensed by the Commissioner of Public Health or the Commissioner of Consumer Protection pursuant to section 21a-246. A laboratory of the United States Bureau of Narcotics is not required to be licensed under this section if it is approved by the Division of Scientific Services within the Department of Public Safety.
(b) The Division of Scientific Services within the Department of Public Safety shall establish the standards for analytical tests to be conducted with respect to controlled drugs, or with respect to body fluids believed to contain alcohol, by qualified professional toxicologists and chemists operating under the division’s direction and shall have the general responsibility for supervising such analytical personnel in the performance of such tests. The original report of an analysis made by such analytical personnel of the Division of Scientific Services or by a qualified toxicologist, pathologist or chemist of a laboratory of the United States Bureau of Narcotics shall be signed and dated by the analyst actually conducting the tests and shall state the nature of the analytical tests or procedures, the identification and number of samples tested and the results of the analytical tests. A copy of such report certified by the analyst shall be received in any court of this state as competent evidence of the matters and facts therein contained at any hearing in probable cause, pretrial hearing or trial. If such copy is to be offered in evidence at a trial, the attorney for the state shall send a copy thereof, by certified mail, to the attorney of the defendant who has filed an appearance of record or, if there is no such attorney, to the defendant if such defendant has filed an appearance pro se, and such attorney or defendant, as the case may be, shall, within five days of the receipt of such copy, notify the attorney for the state, in writing, if such attorney or defendant intends to contest the introduction of such certified copy. No such trial shall commence until the expiration of such five-day period and, if such intention to contest has been filed, the usual rules of evidence shall obtain at such trial.
(c) In the case of any person charged with a violation of any provision of sections 21a-243 to 21a-279, inclusive, who has been previously convicted of a violation of the laws of the United States or of any other state, territory or the District of Columbia, relating to controlled drugs, such previous conviction shall, for the purpose of sections 21a-277 and 21a-279, be deemed a prior offense.
(d) In addition to any fine, fee or cost that may be imposed pursuant to any provision of the general statutes, the court shall impose a cost of fifty dollars upon any person convicted of a violation of this chapter if an analysis of a controlled substance in relation to the conviction was performed by or at the direction of the chief toxicologist of the Department of Public Health or the Division of Scientific Services within the Department of Public Safety. Any cost imposed under this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation for the Department of Public Safety and shall not be diverted for any other purpose than the provision of funds for the Division of Scientific Services.
Oftentimes, before an individual is arrested for possession of drugs or one of the other more serious offenses like possession with intent to sell, the arresting officer will conduct a field test of the substance he suspects is a controlled substance. The most common field test kits that are used are the “NARK” test kits, which can test for a variety of substances. There are major problems with these test kits, specifically that they quite often produce false positive results. For example, with the “NARK II” test kit, which tests for Marijuana, the kit can read a false positive if dark chocolate is testing. This means that the test kit will show positive for marijuana when the only substance being tested is chocolate! That means you could potentially be arrested for possession of a controlled substance when you do not even have that substance on you. However, you could also reap the benefits of the unreliability of these tests. These field tests may also indicate that no drugs are present when in fact they are.
The courts do recognize the problems with these test kits, and therefore, the results of these field tests alone cannot be used to convict you. Typically, the results of a field test can only be used to establish probable cause when testified to in conjunction with other evidence (i.e. the officer’s training and experience” and even subsequent testimony of a state toxicologist. In State v. Williams, 169 Conn. 322 (1975), our Supreme Court held that a police office could testify as to the purpose and results of field tests if there is subsequent testimony of a toxicologist confirming the results of the field test. While this is not a bright-line rule, it certainly prevents the state from relying field tests that are generally unreliable.
Generally, the presence of drugs in a blood or urine test is not evidence of possession. In order to establish possession, the state must prove actual possession or construction possession. Having drugs in your system is not actual or constructive possession. Evidence of a controlled substance in your body, or evidence that you introduced it into your body, is not by itself proof of present or past possession. However, oftentimes police officers will still try obtain blood or urine tests are part of their investigation into other crimes, or possession crimes, in order to obtain circumstantial evidence. These tests, as with the field tests, have many problems. There are a number of procedures and protocols that must be followed in order for them to be admissible, and the Connecticut General Statutes provides for these regulations.
Conn. Agencies Regs. § 14-227a-3b. Approval and certification required.
(a) No person shall operate a laboratory for the performance of forensic chemical testing within the scope of sections 14-227a-1b to 14-227a-10b, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, until the commissioner approves the methods of conducting the analyses and certifies each analyst who will be performing such chemical tests.
(8) high performance liquid chromatography.
(c) The commissioner may approve a method not based on the techniques listed in subsection (b) of this section, provided that such alternative method produces a comparable degree of precision and accuracy.
(d) Test results shall not be reported until the requirements of subsection (a) of this section are met. Failure to obtain such approvals or certifications may result in the suspension or revocation of any approvals or certifications subsequently obtained.
(1) Blood shall be withdrawn by a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery in this state, a phlebotomist as defined in subdivision (12) of section 14-227a-1b of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, a qualified laboratory technician, an emergency medical technician II, a registered nurse or such other occupational classification as the commissioner determines may competently and safely withdraw blood for the purposes of sections 14-227a-1b to 14-227a-10b, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.
(2) Blood samples shall be collected using a sterile syringe and hypodermic needle or other equipment of equivalent sterility. The skin at the area of puncture shall be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected, provided that any solution containing ethyl alcohol shall not be used as a skin antiseptic.
(3) Containers and other equipment for sample collection shall be of a type that will preserve the integrity and suitability of the sample from the time of collection until analysis. Following collection, the container for each sample shall be sealed and labeled. Only those samples that have been properly sealed shall be analyzed.
(1) The police officer collecting the sample shall monitor the collection of the sample to ensure that adulteration or misidentification does not occur. Collections shall be monitored by a police officer of the same gender as the individual from whom the sample is obtained.
(2) Containers and other equipment for sample collection shall be of a type that will preserve the integrity and suitability of the sample from the time of collection until it is analyzed. Following collection, the container for each sample shall be sealed and labeled. Only those samples that have been properly sealed shall be analyzed.
(1) No analysis result may be reported or used for the purposes specified in section 14-227a-2b of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, unless the method or methods used to conduct the analysis have been approved by the commissioner and such analysis is performed by an analyst.
(3) All tests shall be performed in duplicate. Alcohol test results shall be reported to the requesting agency only when the duplicate results correspond to each other within 5 percent of the mean value. Drug test results shall be reported to the requesting agency only when the duplicate results correspond to each other within 20 percent of the mean value.
(4) All reports, written and oral, shall indicate the determined or equivalent blood alcohol content in terms of hundredths of a percent. When determinations are made to the nearest thousandth of a percent, results shall be truncated to the first two digits after the decimal point. For example, a determination of 0.149 percent shall be reported as 0.14 percent.
Under Connecticut law, an employer may give either current or prospective employees drug tests in very narrow situations. An employer can determine an employee’s eligibility for a promotion on the basis of a drug test if the employer gives the employee a urine test using reliable methodology and if it is a positive test, the results must be confirmed by a separate and independent test. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51u. An employer may give a prospective employee a drug test if the following conditions are met: (1) the prospective employee is notified in writing of the drug test at the time of his or application for the position, (2) the first test is a urine test using reliable methodology and if that test is a positive, it is confirm by a second, independent test, and (3) the prospective employee is provided with the results of the test. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51v. Furthermore, the results of this test must be kept confidential. Also, during either of these two types of tests, the employer cannot observe the employee or potential employee, and the results of any of these types of tests are inadmissible in any criminal proceeding. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51w.
An employer may give an employee a random drug test if the employer has “reasonable suspicion that the employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol which adversely affects or could adversely affect such employee’s job performance.” Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51x. An employer does not need reasonable suspicion to require a drug test of an employee if any of the following conditions are present: (1) federal law allows for the tests for that occupation, (2) the occupation is designated as high-risk or safety-sensitive occupation, (3) the employee operates a school bus, or (4) the testing is part of an employee assistance program in which the employee voluntarily participates.
The designation of an occupation as a “high-risk” or “safety-sensitive” occupation results from either a request by an employer, or as a result an investigation by the Department of Labor. If the employer requests this designation for the purposes of instituting random drug testing, then the Department of Labor will conduct an investigation. Conn. Agencies Regs. § 31-51x-4. According to the Conn. Agencies Regs. § 31-51x-1, is an occupation which “(1) presents a clearly significant life threatening danger to the employed so occupied, his fellow employees, or the general public and is performed in a manner or place inherent with or inseparable from such danger, and (2) requires the exercise of discriminating judgment or high degree of care and caution, and (3) is separate from the ability to discern impaired or enhanced performance by direct supervision and is not reasonably subject to other valid and available means of observation and evaluation which would preclude the necessity of random urinalysis.” The full list of designated occupations is available below, and is published by the Department of Labor.
As for federal laws that allow for drug testing, which thereby allows for drug testing in Connecticut, the most common is the law requiring drug tests for commercial drivers. Under 49 U.S.C. § 31306, the Secretary of Transportation can require drug testing for drivers of commercial motor vehicles in the following situations: preemployment, under reasonable suspicion by an employer, randomly, or post-accident investigation. The Secretary of Transportation can also require periodic recurring testing of drivers as well under this statute. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-276a(d) mirrors the federal statute, further codifying the requirements that commercial drivers submit to random testing.
Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-276a(d) and Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51x(b), school bus drivers are also subject to random tests. A school bus driver is also designated as a “high-risk or safety-sensitive” occupation, thereby making it very difficult to challenge any requirement of employment as a school bus driver to take random urine drug tests.
(a) No employer may determine an employee’s eligibility for promotion, additional compensation, transfer, termination, disciplinary or other adverse personnel action solely on the basis of a positive urinalysis drug test result unless (1) the employer has given the employee a urinalysis drug test, utilizing a reliable methodology, which produced a positive result and (2) such positive test result was confirmed by a second urinalysis drug test, which was separate and independent from the initial test, utilizing a gas chromatography and mass spectrometry methodology or a methodology which has been determined by the Commissioner of Public Health to be as reliable or more reliable than the gas chromatography and mass spectrometry methodology.
(b) No person performing a urinalysis drug test pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall report, transmit or disclose any positive test result of any test performed in accordance with subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section unless such test result has been confirmed in accordance with subdivision (2) of said subsection (a).
No employer may require a prospective employee to submit to a urinalysis drug test as part of the application procedure for employment with such employer unless (1) the prospective employee is informed in writing at the time of application of the employer’s intent to conduct such a drug test, (2) such test is conducted in accordance with the requirements of subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of section 31-51u and (3) the prospective employee is given a copy of any positive urinalysis drug test result. The results of any such test shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed by the employer or its employees to any person other than any such employee to whom such disclosure is necessary.
(a) No employer or employer representative, agent or designee engaged in a urinalysis drug testing program shall directly observe an employee or prospective employee in the process of producing the urine specimen.
(b) Any results of urinalysis drug tests conducted by or on behalf of an employer shall be maintained along with other employee medical records and shall be subject to the privacy protections provided for in sections 31-128a to 31-128h, inclusive. Such results shall be inadmissible in any criminal proceeding.
(a) No employer may require an employee to submit to a urinalysis drug test unless the employer has reasonable suspicion that the employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol which adversely affects or could adversely affect such employee’s job performance. The Labor Commissioner shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to specify circumstances which shall be presumed to give rise to an employer having such a reasonable suspicion, provided nothing in such regulations shall preclude an employer from citing other circumstances as giving rise to such a reasonable suspicion.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, 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 is employed to operate a school bus, as defined in section 14-275, or a student transportation vehicle, as defined in section 14-212, 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.
The following is a list of occupations designated as high risk or safety sensitive by the Labor Commissioner as a result of specific request received on behalf of individual employers.
This list may serve only as a guide for the Commissioner in future investigations and determinations made pursuant to the regulations. Employers may institute random urinalysis drug testing only after their individual request has received written approval from the Commissioner.
• Advanced Climber/Trimmer-Trainee (Power Line Clearance).
• Advanced Life Support Technicians.
• Airframe and Powerplant Technician.
• Assistant Plant Operator (Power Generations).
• Assistant Utility Operator (Plant Generations).
• Back Piler Operator (Terminal Operations).
• Branch Managers (Compressed Gas).
• Bricklayers (Bridge, Tunnel and Elevated Highway Construction).
• Bulldozer Operator (Terminal Operations).
• Camp Counselors (First Aid/CPR Certified).
• Carpenters (Elevated Concrete Form Work).
• Carpenters and Joiners (Bridge, Tunnel and Elevated Highway Construction).
• Chemical Compounding Manager/Supervisor/Personnel (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).
• Chemical Lab Technician/Assistant (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).
• Chemical Operator (Hazardous Materials).
• Chemical Processors (Surgical Sponge Manufacturing).
• Chemist (Hazardous Waste Materials).
• Chief Chemist (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).
• Climber/Trimmer-Trainee (Power Line Clearance).
• Clinicians (Social Workers, Therapists, and Psychologists).
• Compressed Gas Delivery Personnel.
• Construction Engineer (Elevated Construction).
• Construction Splicer (Television Cable).
• Container Management Worker (Hazardous Waste Materials).
• Corporate Industrial Hygienist (Chemical/Mining Facilities).
• Corporate Security Personnel (Executive Protection).
• Crane Operator (Power Generations).
• Crane Operator (Prestress concrete).
• Crew Chief (Armored Car).
• Crew Leader (Power Line Clearance).
• Cylinder Shot Blasting Operators.
• Director, Environmental Health & Safety (Power Generations).
• Director of IV Services.
• Director of Operations (EMS).
• Dispatcher (Ambulance & Handicapped Services Vehicle).
• Dispatcher/Forklift Operator (Prestress Concrete).
• Disposing Operator (Water Treatment Plant/Flammable, Hazardous Liquid).
• District Field Operations Supervisor (Explosives).
• Divers (Bridge, Tunnel and Elevated Highway Construction).
• Diving Tenders (Bridge, Tunnel and Elevated Highway Construction).
• Drivers of School Buses and/or Student Transportation Vehicles.
• Drop Swapper (Television Cable).
• E & I Technician (Power Generations).
• Emergency Medical Technician Intermediate (EMT-I).
• Engineer (Hazardous Waste Site).
• Environmental Scientist (Hazardous Waste/Petroleum Products).
• Field Engineer (Elevated Construction).
• Field Operations Manager (Explosives).
• Field Service Representative (Fuel Station Monitoring).
• Field Technician (Hazardous Waste/Petroleum Products).
• Field Technician (Hazardous Waste Site).
• Field Test Engineers (Off-Shore Drilling).
• Filling Manager/Supervisor (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).
• Fire Sprinkler Technician (Elevated Construction).
• Floaters (Surgical Sponge Manufacturing).
• Forklift Operator (Terminal Operations).
• Forklift Operator (Hazardous Materials).
• Gang Boss (Terminal Operations).
• Garage Mechanics (Terminal Operations).
• General Laborer (Terminal Operations).
• Groundperson (Power Line Clearance).
• Group Leaders (Surgical Sponge Manufacturing).
• Handlers and Users of Radioactive Sources.
• Health & Safety Officer (Hazardous Waste Site).
• Heavy Equipment Operators (Elevated Construction).
• Hold Operator of Forklift (Terminal Operations).
• Hydrogeologist (Hazardous Waste Site).
• Inspectors (Surgical Sponge Manufacturing).
• Installation Representative/Manager (Fuel Station Monitoring).
• Installation/Repair Technician (Television Cable).
• Iron Workers (Bridge, Tunnel and Elevated Construction).
• Ironworker (Rebar & Structural).
• Lab Manager (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).
• Laboratory Director (Hazardous Waste Materials).
• Laborer (Power Line Clearance).
• Laborer (Road Crack and Joint Repair).
• Laborers (Bridge, Tunnel and Elevated Highway Construction).
• Laborers (Elevated Concrete Form Work).
• Lead Installation/Line Technician (Television Cable).
• Lead Laborer (Power Generations).
• Lead Technician (Fuel Station Monitoring).
• Leakage Technician (Television Cable).
• Licensed Operator (Waste Water Treatment Plant).
• Light Duty Wrecker Operator.
• Line Technician (Television Cable).
• Location Manager (Petroleum or Petrochemical Laboratory).
• Machine Operators (Surgical Sponge Manufacturing).
• Machine Setup Mechanic (Plastic Products Manufacturing).
• Machinist (Plastic Products Manufacturing).
• Maintaining revenue service vehicles or equipment used in revenue service.
• Maintenance Electrician/Steamfitter (Elevated Construction).
• Maintenance Manager (Power Generations).
• Maintenance Mechanic Helpers (Terminal Operations).
• Maintenance Mechanics (Terminal Operations).
• Maintenance Mechanics, Lead 1st & 2nd class (Power Generations).
• Maintenance Person/Forklift Operator (Prestress Concrete).
• Maintenance Personnel (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).
• Maintenance Supervisor (Power Generations).
• Maintenance Worker (Hazardous Waste Materials).
• Manager, Technical & Field Service (Fuel Station Monitoring).
• Marine Terminal Operator (Petroleum Products).
• Masons (Elevated Concrete Form Work).
• Material Handler (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).
• Material Handler/Forklift Operator (Plastic Products Manufacturing).
• Mechanics (Heating, Elevated Construction).
• Mechanics (Placarded Vehicles Carrying Hazardous Materials).
• Mechanics (School Buses and/or Student Transportation Vehicles).
• Mobile Equipment Operator (Power Generations).
• Operating Engineers (Bridge, Tunnel and Elevated Highway Construction).
• Operating Engineer (Cranes/Heavy Equipment/Piledriver/Forklifts).
• Operation of a revenue service vehicle, whether or not such vehicle is in revenue service.
• Operations Manager (Armored Car).
• Operations Manager (Power Generations).
• Operations Superintendent (Power Generations).
• Operations Technician (Fuel Station Monitoring).
• Operators of Handicapped Services Vehicles.
• Overhead Crane Operator (10 ton and over).
• Packagers (Surgical Sponge Manufacturing).
• Packer/Forklift Operator (Plastic Products Manufacturing).
• Payload Operator (Terminal Operations).
• Petroleum or Petrochemical Laboratory Manager.
• Pharmaceutical Clinical Quality Assurance Rep.
• Pharmaceutical Data Entry Technician/Supervisor.
• Pharmaceutical Medical Records Technician.
• Pick Up Gear (Terminal Operations).
• Pile Drivers (Bridge, Tunnel and Elevated Highway Construction).
• Plant Associates (Compressed Gas).
• Plant Foreman (Petroleum Products).
• Plant Manager (Compressed Gas).
• Plant Manager (Petroleum Products).
• Plant Manager (Power Generations).
• Plant Operator (Petroleum Products).
• Plant Operator (Power Generations).
• Plant Superintendent (Petroleum Products).
• Plant Supervisor (Petroleum Products).
• Processing Supervisor (Hazardous Waste Materials).
• Project Manager (Elevated Construction).
• Quality Assurance Manager (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).
• Quality Control Inspector (Aircraft).
• Quality Control Inspector (Prestress Concrete).
• Quality Control Lab Technician (Prestress Concrete).
• Quality Control-Laboratory (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).
• Quality Control-Production Inspector (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).
• Quality Monitors (Surgical Sponge Manufacturing).
• Remedial Service, Technician (Hazardous Waste Materials).
• Repair Personnel of Ambulance and Handicapped Services Vehicles.
• Research & Development Chemist.
• Riggers of Containment Cables.
• Safety Manager (Elevated Construction).
• Safety Officer (Armored Car).
• Sales Representative/Demonstrator (Heavy Equipment).
• Senior Projects Manager (Fuel Station Monitoring).
• Senior Technician (Television Cable).
• Service Technician (Industrial Chimney/Air Duct and Boiler Systems).
• Service Technician (Television Cable).
• Shift Supervisor (Power Generations).
• Shipping Receiving (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).
• Shore Crane Operator (Terminal Operations).
• Site Clean-up Crews (HazardousWaste).
• Staff Scientist (Hazardous Waste Site).
• Supervisor (Ambulance & Handicapped Services Vehicle).
• Supervisor of Professional Services (EMS).
• Tallying Employees (Terminal Operations).
• Terminal Foreman (Petroleum Products).
• Terminal Supervisor (Petroleum Products).
• Thermal Sprayers/Gritblasters (Metalizing Operations).
• Top Climber/Top Trimmer (Power Line Clearance).
• Traffic Manager (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).
• Transfer Station Operator (Power Generations).
• Truck Driver (Hazardous Waste Materials).
• Truck Driver (LP Gas, Gasoline, Combustible Fuel).
• Truck Driver (Petroleum Products).
• Truck Driver (Road Crack and Joint Repair).
• Truck Drivers (Bridge, Tunnel and Elevated Highway Construction).
• Truck Drivers Helpers (Bridge, Tunnel and Elevated Highway Construction).
• Truckloading Dock Operator of Forklift (Terminal Operations).
• Underground Utility Locate Technician.
• Utility Operator (Power Generations).
• Van Driver (Revenue Service).
• Warehouse Maintenance & Utility Persons (Hazardous Materials).
• Weld Manager (Elevated Construction).
• Wheel Chair Van Driver.
• Winch Operator (Terminal Operations).
• Working Foreman (Hazardous Materials).
• Yardman (Hazardous Waste Materials).
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-276a(d). School bus operators and operators of student transportation vehicles: drug testing.
(d) A carrier shall require each person whom it intends to employ to operate a school bus, as defined in section 14-275, or a student transportation vehicle, as defined in section 14-212, to submit to a urinalysis drug test in accordance with the provisions of sections 31-51v and 31-51w and shall require each person it employs to operate such vehicles to submit to a urinalysis drug test on a random basis in accordance with the provisions of section 31-51x and the standards set forth in 49 CFR Parts 382 and 391. No carrier may employ any person who has received a positive test result for such test which was confirmed as provided in subdivisions (2) and (3) of section 31-51u. No carrier may continue to employ as a driver, for two years, any person who has received a positive test result for such test which was confirmed as provided in subdivisions (2) and (3) of subsection (a) of section 31-51u. No carrier may continue to employ as a driver, permanently, any person who has received a second positive test result for such test which was confirmed as provided in subdivisions (2) and (3) of subsection (a) of section 31-51u. The commissioner may, after notice and hearing, impose a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for the first offense and two thousand five hundred dollars for each subsequent offense on any carrier which violates any provision of this subsection.
(2) “Employer” means a person employing or contracting with a driver.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 31-51t to 31-51aa, inclusive, (1) any person employing a driver of a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1, operating in intrastate commerce in the state shall require such driver to submit to testing as provided by federal law pursuant to 49 USC 31306 and 49 CFR Parts 382 and 391, and (2) any person employing a driver of a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of ten thousand and one pounds or more but not more than twenty-six thousand pounds, a mechanic who repairs or services such a vehicle or a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1, or a forklift operator may require such driver, mechanic or operator to submit to testing as provided by federal law pursuant to 49 USC 3102 and 49 CFR Parts 382 and 391.
(c) Any employer who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of one thousand dollars which shall be imposed by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles after notice and opportunity for a hearing pursuant to the provisions of chapter 54. The commissioner shall impose a civil penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars for any subsequent failure to comply by such employer.
(a) Definition.–In this section, “controlled substance” means any substance under section 102 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 802) specified by the Secretary of Transportation.
(b) Testing program for operators of commercial motor vehicles.–(1)(A) In the interest of commercial motor vehicle safety, the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe regulations that establish a program requiring motor carriers to conduct preemployment, reasonable suspicion, random, and post-accident testing of operators of commercial motor vehicles for the use of a controlled substance in violation of law or a United States Government regulation and to conduct reasonable suspicion, random, and post-accident testing of such operators for the use of alcohol in violation of law or a United States Government regulation. The regulations shall permit such motor carriers to conduct preemployment testing of such employees for the use of alcohol.
(B) When the Secretary of Transportation considers it appropriate in the interest of safety, the Secretary may prescribe regulations for conducting periodic recurring testing of operators of commercial motor vehicles for the use of alcohol or a controlled substance in violation of law or a Government regulation.
(B) may require that post-accident testing of such an operator be conducted when bodily injury or significant property damage occurs in any other serious accident involving a commercial motor vehicle.
(8) ensure that employees are selected for tests by nondiscriminatory and impartial methods, so that no employee is harassed by being treated differently from other employees in similar circumstances.
(d) Testing as part of medical examination. The Secretary of Transportation may provide that testing under subsection (a) of this section for operators subject to subpart E of part 391 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, be conducted as part of the medical examination required under that subpart.
(e) Rehabilitation. The Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe regulations establishing requirements for rehabilitation programs that provide for the identification and opportunity for treatment of operators of commercial motor vehicles who are found to have used alcohol or a controlled substance in violation of law or a Government regulation. The Secretary shall decide on the circumstances under which those operators shall be required to participate in a program. This section does not prevent a motor carrier from establishing a program under this section in cooperation with another motor carrier.
(f) Sanctions. The Secretary of Transportation shall decide on appropriate sanctions for a commercial motor vehicle operator who is found, based on tests conducted and confirmed under this section, to have used alcohol or a controlled substance in violation of law or a Government regulation but who is not under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance as provided in this chapter.
(g) Effect on State and local government regulations. A State or local government may not prescribe or continue in effect a law, regulation, standard, or order that is inconsistent with regulations prescribed under this section. However, a regulation prescribed under this section may not be construed to preempt a State criminal law that imposes sanctions for reckless conduct leading to loss of life, injury, or damage to property.
(h) International obligations and foreign laws. In prescribing regulations under this section, the Secretary of Transportation.
(2) shall consider applicable laws and regulations of foreign countries.
(i) Other regulations allowed. This section does not prevent the Secretary of Transportation from continuing in effect, amending, or further supplementing a regulation prescribed before October 28, 1991, governing the use of alcohol or a controlled substance by commercial motor vehicle employees.

References: v. 
 § 21
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 § 14
 § 31
 § 31
 § 31
 § 31
 § 31
 § 31
 § 31306
 § 14
 § 14
 § 31
 § 14