(a) An employee or job applicant whose drug or alcohol test result is confirmed as positive in accordance with this section shall not, by virtue of the result alone, be deemed to have a disability as defined under federal, state or local disability discrimination laws.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 50-9-108

  • Alcohol test: means an analysis of breath, or blood, or any other analysis that determines the presence and level or absence of alcohol as authorized by the United States department of transportation in its rules and guidelines concerning alcohol testing and drug testing. See Tennessee Code 50-9-103
  • Covered employer: means a person or entity that employs a person, is covered by the Workers' Compensation Law, compiled in chapter 6 of this title, maintains a drug-free workplace pursuant to this chapter and includes on the posting required by §. See Tennessee Code 50-9-103
  • Drug: means any controlled substance subject to testing pursuant to drug testing regulations adopted by the United States department of transportation. See Tennessee Code 50-9-103
  • Employee: means any individual who performs services for a covered employer for wages if the services performed by the individual qualify as an employer-employee relationship with the employer based upon consideration of the following twenty (20) factors as described in the twenty-factor test of Internal Revenue Service Revenue Ruling 87-41, 1987-1 C. See Tennessee Code 50-9-103
  • Employer: means a person or entity that employs a person and that is covered by the Workers' Compensation Law, compiled in chapter 6 of this title. See Tennessee Code 50-9-103
  • Job applicant: means a person who has applied for a position with a covered employer and who has been offered employment conditioned upon successfully passing a drug or alcohol test, and may have begun work pending the results of the drug or alcohol test. See Tennessee Code 50-9-103
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • test: means any chemical, biological or physical instrumental analysis administered by a laboratory authorized to do so pursuant to this chapter, for the purpose of determining the presence or absence of a drug or its metabolites pursuant to regulations governing drug testing adopted by the United States department of transportation or other recognized authority approved by rule by the commissioner of labor and workforce development. See Tennessee Code 50-9-103
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) A covered employer who discharges or disciplines an employee or refuses to hire a job applicant in compliance with this section is considered to have discharged, disciplined or refused to hire for cause.
(c) No physician-patient relationship is created between an employee or job applicant and a covered employer or any person performing or evaluating a drug or alcohol test, solely by the establishment, implementation or administration of a drug or alcohol testing program. This section in no way relieves the person performing the test from responsibility for acts of negligence in performing the tests.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a covered employer from establishing reasonable work rules related to employee possession, use, sale or solicitation of drugs or alcohol, including convictions for offenses relating to drugs or alcohol, and taking action based upon a violation of any of those rules.
(e) This section does not operate retroactively, and does not abrogate the right of an employer under state law to lawfully conduct drug or alcohol tests, or implement lawful employee drug-testing programs. This chapter shall not prohibit an employer from conducting any drug or alcohol testing of employees that is otherwise permitted by law.
(f) If an employee or job applicant refuses to submit to a drug or alcohol test, the covered employer is not barred from discharging or disciplining the employee or from refusing to hire the job applicant; however, this subsection (f) does not abrogate the rights and remedies of the employee or job applicant as otherwise provided in this section.
(g) This section does not prohibit an employer from conducting medical screening or other tests required, permitted or not disallowed by any statute, rule or regulation for the purpose of monitoring exposure of employees to toxic or other unhealthy substances in the workplace or in the performance of job responsibilities. The screening or testing is limited to the specific substances expressly identified in the applicable statute, rule or regulation, unless prior written consent of the employee is obtained for other tests. The screening or testing need not be in compliance with the rules adopted by the department of labor and workforce development and department of health. If applicable, the drug or alcohol testing must be specified in a collective bargaining agreement as negotiated by the appropriate certified bargaining agent before the testing is implemented.
(h) No cause of action shall arise in favor of any person based upon the failure of an employer to establish a program or policy for drug or alcohol testing.
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