An Act To Amend the Random Drug Testing Laws LR2275(02)
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1760
Committee Amendment CA_A_H711 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .. /} .. to H.P. 1282, L.D. 1760, Bill, "An 
Act To Amend the Random Drug Testing Laws" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting 
clause and before the summary and inserting in its place the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 26 MRS A §683, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 556, 
§2, is further amended by amending the first paragraph to read: 
2. 
Written policy. 
Before establishing any substance abuse 
testing program, 
an employer must develop or, 
as required in 
section 684, subsection 3, paragraph C, must appoint an employee 
committee to develop a written policy in compliance with this 
subchapter providing for, at a minimum: 
Sec. 2. 26MRSA§684,sub-§3, as amended by PL 2001, c. 706, 
§l, is further amended to read: 
3. 
Random or arbitrary testinq of employees. 
In addition 
to testing employees on a probable cause basis under subsection 
2, an employer may require, request or suggest that an employee 
submit to a substance abuse test on a random or arbitrary basis 
if at-~east-eBe-e{-tRe-{e~~ew~B~-eeBeitieBs-is-met: 
Page l-LR2275(2) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,~, to H.P. 1282, L.D. 1760 
A. 
The 
employer 
and 
the 
employee 
have 
bargained 
for 
prov~s~ons in 
a 
collective bargaining agreement, 
either 
before or after the effective date of this subchapter, that 
provide for random or arbitrary testing of employees. 
A 
random or arbitrary testing program that would result from 
implementation of 
an employer's last best offer is not 
considered 
a 
prov1s1on 
bargained 
for 
in 
a 
collective 
bargaining agreement for purposes of this section; at 
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 99-w9!'lle!'s coworkers 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 construedT~ 
C. 
The 
employer 
has established 
a 
random or arbitrary 
testing program under this paragraph that applies to all 
employees, 
except 
as 
provided 
in 
subparagraph 
(4), 
regardless of position. 
(1) 
An employer may establish a testing program under 
this paragraph only if the employer has 
or more 
employees 
who 
are 
not 
covered 
by 
a 
collective 
bargaining agreement. 
(2) 
The 
written policy 
required 
by 
section 
683, 
subsection 2 with respect to a testing program under 
this paragraph must be developed by a committee of at 
least 10 of the employer's employees. 
The 
employer 
shall 
appoint 
members 
to 
the 
committee 
from 
a 
cross-section of 
employees 
who 
are eligible 
to 
be 
tested. 
The 
committee 
must 
include 
a 
medical 
professional who is trained in procedures for testing 
for substances of abuse. 
If no such person is employed 
by the employer, the employer shall obtain the services 
of such a person to serve as a member of the committee 
created under this subparagraph. 
(3) 
The written policy developed under subparagraph 
(2) must also require that selection of employees for 
testing be performed by a person or entity not subject 
to the employer's influence, such as a medical review 
officer. 
Selection must be made from a list, provided 
by the employer, of all employees subject to testing 
under 
this 
paragraph. 
The 
list 
may 
not 
contain 
information that would identify the employee to the 
person or entity making the selection. 
( 4) 
Employees 
who 
are 
covered 
by 
a 
collective 
bargaining 
agreement 
are 
not 
included 
in 
testing 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
to (}-, to H. P. 1282, L.D. 1760 
programs pursuant to this paragraph unless they agree 
to be 
included pursuant to a 
collective bargaining 
agreement as described under paragraph A. 
(5) 
Before initiating a testing program under this 
paragraph, the employer must obtain from the Department 
of Labor 
approval 
of 
the policy developed 
by 
the 
employee committee, as required in section 686. 
If the 
employer 
does 
not 
approve 
of 
the 
written 
policy 
developed by the employee committee, the employer may 
decide not to submit the policy to the department and 
not to establish the testing program. 
The employer may 
not change the written policy without approval of the 
employee committee. 
(6) 
The employer may not discharge, suspend, demote, 
discipline or otherwise discriminate with regard to 
compensation or working conditions against an employee 
for participating or refusing to participate in an 
employee committee created pursuant to this paragraph. 
Sec. 3. 26 MRS A §685, sub-§2, ,B, as amended by PL 1989, c. 
832, §12, is further amended to read: 
B. 
Before taking any action described in paragraph A in the 
case 
of 
an 
employee 
who 
receives 
an initial confirmed 
positive result, an employer shall provide the employee with 
an opportunity to participate for 
up to 
months 
in a 
rehabilitation program designed to enable the employee to 
avoid future use of a substance of abuse and to participate 
in an employee assistance program, if the employer has such 
a program. 
The employer may take any action described in 
paragraph A if the employee receives a subsequent confirmed 
positive result from a test administered by the employer 
under this subchapter.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill and clarifies the intent of 
the bill. 
It amends 
the State's workplace 
substance 
abuse 
testing laws to provide employers of 50 or more nonunionized 
employees another option for establishing a random or arbitrary 
substance abuse testing program. 
Under current law, 
random or 
arbitrary testing programs may be imposed only on persons in 
safety-sensitive positions or pursuant to a collective bargaining 
agreement. 
This allows certain employers a 3rd option: a random 
or arbitrary substance abuse testing program that applies to all 
employees, 
regardless 
of 
position. 
Unionized 
employees 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "~,, to H.P. 1282, L.D. 1760 
would be included in such a testing program only if inclusion is 
part of their collective bargaining agreement. 
If the employer wishes to conduct testing under this new 3rd 
option, the employer must form an employee committee to write the 
policies regarding the testing program. 
The committee must be 
composed of a cross-section of employees subject to the test and 
must include a medical professional trained in substance abuse 
testing. 
Determination of which employees will be tested at any 
one time must be made by a person or entity independent from 
employer influence, such as a medical review officer. 
The amendment also requires that a person with a confirmed 
positive test be allowed to participate in an employee assistance 
program, if the employer has such a program. 
FISCAL ~Olll{i':(ll.IREO 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Approved: 02117/03 ,;tI;?ac::.. 
Office of Fiscal and Program Review 
LD 1760 
An Act To Amend the Random Drug Testing Laws 
LR2275(02) 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment" " 
Committee: Labor 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Additional costs to the Department of Labor can be absorbed utilizing existing budgeted resources. 
LR2275(2) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1