Confirmation of Drug Test Results Sought

SACRAMENTO — Declaring employee drug testing to be “too important and sensitive an issue to leave to self-regulation,” a Bay Area legislator introduced a bill Wednesday that would require employers to confirm positive drug test results with a state-licensed laboratory before taking action against a worker or job applicant.

Gov. George Deukmejian vetoed a similar bill last year, but the author, Assemblyman Johan Klehs (D-San Leandro), said he thinks he has met the governor’s objections in the revised version.

The Department of Health Services would develop regulations for licensing laboratories that conduct drug-abuse tests of blood and urine.

In addition to protecting employees, the legislation is aimed at protecting employers from suits by workers who, as a result of laboratory error, falsely test positive for drugs.