North Carolina Alcohol & Drugs: What you need to know

North Carolina law allows employers to test job applicants and employees for drug or alcohol impairment and regulates the procedures that employers must follow in implementing such testing. State law does not require employers to drug test, but does regulate those employers who voluntarily choose to implement a drug-testing program. It seeks to protect individuals from unreliable and inadequate examinations and screening for controlled substances. The purpose of the law is to establish procedural and other requirements for the administration of controlled substance examinations (NC Gen. Stat. Sec. 95-230 et seq.).

Notice. When a sample is taken, the examiner must provide the employee to be tested with written notice of his or her rights and responsibilities under the Controlled Substance Examination Regulation Act. Within 30 days from the time that the test results are mailed or otherwise delivered to the examiner, the examiner must give written notice to the tested employee of (1) any positive result of a controlled substance examination and (2) the employee's rights and responsibilities regarding retesting (NC Admin. Code Ch. 13 Sec. 20.0304 et seq.).

Collection of samples. Collection of samples for examination or screening must be performed under reasonable and sanitary conditions.

Approved laboratory. All positive drug tests must be confirmed by a certified laboratory. Laboratories must be certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the College of American Pathologists.

Confirmatory test. All positive initial tests must be confirmed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) or an equivalent methodology. A positive test sample must be preserved ...