U.S. DOT Rejects State Laws Re Marijuana Legalization

The U.S. Department of Transportation requires drug testing of certain commercial vehicle operators, and requires employers to ensure drivers who test positive do not drive.
In the November 2012 elections, states such as Washington and Colorado passed laws legalizing recreational use of marijuana.  There also is a growing number of states with medical marijuana laws.
The DOT has now issued a response to these laws, available here.  In essence, the DOT says that state laws do not affect the federal agency's enforcement position:

We want to make it perfectly clear that the state initiatives will have no bearing on the Department of Transportation’s regulated drug testing program. The Department of Transportation’s Drug and Alcohol Testing Regulation – 49 CFR Part 40 – does not authorize the use of Schedule I drugs, including marijuana, for any reason.

Therefore, Medical Review Officers (MROs) will not verify a drug test as negative based upon learning that the employee used “recreational marijuana” when states have passed “recreational marijuana” initiatives.

We also firmly reiterate that an MRO will not verify a drug test negative based upon information that a physician recommended that the employee use “medical marijuana” when states have passed “medical marijuana” initiatives.

It is important to note that marijuana remains a drug listed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. It remains unacceptable for any safety‐sensitive employee subject to drug testing under the Department of Transportation’s drug testing regulations to use marijuana.


We want to assure the traveling public that our transportation system is the safest it can possibly be.

Ninth Circuit: Ban on Applicants Who Test Positive for Drugs Not ADA Violation

The Pacific Maritime Association has a "one-strike" rule. If you fail a drug or alcohol test during the applicant screening process, you are barred from consideration for employment. Forever.

Santiago Lopez applied for a longshoreman's job, but he tested positive for marijuana. He claims that when he applied, he was addicted. But once he become a recovering addict, he was entitled to reapply with the protections of the ADA.

The Ninth Circuit disagreed, upholding summary judgment. The court said that the one-strike rule applies to anyone who fails a drug/alcohol test, not just addicts or recovering addicts. The employer also had no knowledge that Lopez was a recovering addict, only that he previously had failed the test.

A dissenting judge in this 2-1 opinion would have given Lopez a chance to save his disparate impact claim. Lopez argued that a rule barring all persons from re-applying could have a "disparate impact" on recovering alcoholics/drug abusers. But Lopez did not support that argument with statistical proof and, therefore, the court did not allow the claim to proceed.

The case is Lopez v. Pacific Maritime Association and the opinion is here.

New DOT Drug Testing Rules

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) modified its drug testing rules. The entire new rules can be read here.

Only employers that MUST comply with DOT drug testing rules (for drivers of larger trucks) MUST comply with these new rules, which take effect October 1, 2010.
So, employers that have voluntary (optional) drug testing plans in effect may wish to modify them to conform with the DOT rules, but they do not have to.

The DOT has summarized the changes in an email which I'm pasting here:

1) The Department is required by the Omnibus Transportation Employees Testing Act (Omnibus Act) to follow the HHS requirements for the testing procedures/protocols and drugs for which we test.

2) Primary laboratory requirements in this final rule include:

- Testing for MDMA (aka. Ecstasy);

- Lowering cutoff levels for cocaine and amphetamines;

- Conducting mandatory initial testing for heroin;


3) The Department brought several testing definitions in-line with those of HHS.

4) Each Medical Review Officer (MRO) will need to be re-qualified – including passing an examination given by an MRO training organization - every five years. The Final Rule eliminated the requirement for each MRO to take 12 hours of continuing education every three years.

5) An MRO will not need to be trained by an HHS-approved MRO training organization as long as the MRO meets DOT’s qualification and requalification training requirements.

6) MRO recordkeeping requirements did not change from the five years for non-negatives and one year for negatives.

7) The Final Rule does not allow the use of HHS-Certified Instrumented Initial Testing Facilities (IITFs) to conduct initial drug testing because the Omnibus Act requires laboratories to be able to perform both initial and confirmation testing but IITFs cannot conduct confirmation testing.

8) The Final Rule is effective October 1, 2010.

U.S. DOT: Medical Marijuana Users Cannot Breathe Easier

And they can't breathe sighs of relief, either. I kill me. Anyway, the Department of Justice announced it would pull back on enforcement against medical marijuana users where they are operating within the bounds of state law. (See DOJ memo: here) But the US Department of Transportation wants you to know they're a completely separate agency and there is no free pass on drug testing for medical marijuana users. Here is the DOT announcement.

Ninth Circuit Holds Applicant Drug Testing Policy Violates Fourth Amendment

The City of Woodburn, Oregon, has an applicant drug testing policy. All prospective applicants must be screened for illegal drugs prior to hire.

As a government employer, Woodburn is bound to follow the U.S. Constitution. Drug testing is a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. To avoid securing a warrant to conduct the search, the City must demonstrate a sufficient reason to conduct the drug testing without one.

Lanier applied for a job as a part-time worker in the city's library. She refused the drug test and was not hired. She claimed that requiring her to take a drug test as an applicant violated her rights. The Ninth Circuit agreed. The court held that the city's articulated reasons - general societal problems with drug abuse, protecting children in the library, and the adverse effect drug use has on work performance were sufficiently special. Not so, said the court of appeals. Rather, to conduct applicant drug testing, the City would have to demonstrate that these factors were specific problems in the City's workforce, and involving the particular job for which Lanier applied.

Unless the U.S. Supreme Court reverses this decision, many government drug testing programs for applicants will be invalid. The case also may have ripple effects for private employers. In California, for example, applicant drug testing by private employers is generally lawful. The courts have relied on constitutional jurisprudence in reaching that decision. So, stay tuned.
The case is Lanier v. City of Woodburn. The opinion is here.