Drug Testing Existing Employees: What California Employers Should Know

Private employers in California are generally limited in their ability to test existing employees for drug or alcohol use. Random testing is legal only under very limited circumstances. Even post-accident testing isn’t always allowed after every accident. Reasonable suspicion testing, however, is generally permissible.

To support the ability to test employees for drug or alcohol use, employers should have a drug and alcohol-free workplace policy that clearly lays out a legally compliant process for drug and alcohol testing, including what constitutes reasonable suspicion, what supervisors should be trained on when enforcing the policy and other drug testing considerations.