Drug and Alcohol Testing Policies

Under T.C.A. § 5-23-104, the county's personnel policies are required to contain “for any employees who are required by law to be tested, policies and procedures for drug and/or alcohol testing.” 

Before doing anything on this topic, one question should be answered: Are any employees required to have a commercial driver's license (CDL) to perform their duties? If the answer is no, you are not required to test any of your employees and no policy is required under this act.^[1]

If the answer is yes, then you are required under federal law to have a testing program in place already for your CDL drivers. These policies must be carefully drafted to comply with the state and federal constitutions, as well as the federal law and regulations. It is strongly recommended that counties hire experts in this field to handle the testing program and to assist them in preparing these policies.

Sample Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit bids for a Drug Testing Program