CHAPTER 556
S.P. 741 - L.D. 2066
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §682, sub-§7, ¶A, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 536, §§1 and 2 and affected by c. 604, §§2 and 3, is amended to read:
A. "Screening test" means an initial substance abuse test performed through the use of immunoassay technology, or a test technology of similar or greater accuracy and reliability approved by the Department of Human Services under rules adopted under section 687, and which that is used as a preliminary step in detecting the presence of substances of abuse.
(1) A screening test of an applicant's urine or saliva may be performed at the point of collection through the use of a noninstrumented point of collection test device approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration. Section 683, subsection 5-A governs the use of such tests.
Sec. 2. 26 MRSA §683, sub-§2, ¶C, as amended by PL 1989, c. 832, §6, is further amended to read:
C. The collection of samples.
(1) The collection of any sample for use in a substance abuse test must be conducted in a medical facility and supervised by a licensed physician or nurse. A medical facility includes a first aid station located at the work site.
(2) An employer may not require an employee or applicant to remove any clothing for the purpose of collecting a urine sample, except that:
(a) An employer may require that an employee or applicant leave any personal belongings other than clothing and any unnecessary coat, jacket or similar outer garments outside the collection area; or
(b) If it is the standard practice of an off-site medical facility to require the removal of clothing when collecting a urine sample for any purpose, the physician or nurse supervising the collection of the sample in that facility may require the employee or applicant to remove their clothing.
(3) No employee or applicant may be required to provide a urine sample while being observed, directly or indirectly, by another individual.
(4) The employer may take additional actions necessary to ensure the integrity of a urine sample if the sample collector or testing laboratory determines that the sample may have been substituted, adulterated, diluted or otherwise tampered with in an attempt to influence test results. The Department of Human Services shall adopt rules governing when those additional actions are justified and the scope of those actions. These rules may not permit the direct or indirect observation of the collection of a urine sample. If an employee or applicant is found to have twice substituted, adulterated, diluted or otherwise tampered with the employee employee's or applicant's urine sample, as determined under the rules adopted by the department, the employee or applicant is deemed to have refused to submit to a substance abuse test;.
(5) If the employer proposes to use the type of screening test described in section 682, subsection 7, paragraph A, subparagraph (1), the employer's policy must include:
(a) Procedures to ensure the confidentiality of test results as required in section 685, subsection 3; and
(b) Procedures for training persons performing the test in the proper manner of collecting samples and reading results, maintaining a proper chain of custody and complying with other applicable provisions of this subchapter;
Sec. 3. 26 MRSA §683, sub-§5-A is enacted to read:
5-A. Point of collection screening test. Except as provided in this subsection, all provisions of this subchapter regulating screening tests apply to noninstrumented point of collection test devices described in section 682, subsection 7, paragraph A, subparagraph (1).
A. A noninstrumented point of collection test described in section 682, subsection 7, paragraph A, subparagraph (1) may be performed at the point of collection rather than in a laboratory. Subsections 6 and 7 and subsection 8, paragraphs A to C do not apply to such screening tests. Subsection 5 applies only to a sample that results in a positive test result.
B. Any sample that results in a negative test result must be destroyed. Any sample that results in a postive test result must be sent to a qualified testing laboratory consistent with subsections 6 to 8 for confirmation testing.
Sec. 4. 26 MRSA §683, sub-§6, as amended by PL 1989, c. 832, §8, is further amended by amending the first paragraph to read:
6. Qualified testing laboratories required. No employer may perform any substance abuse test administered to any of that employer's employees. An employer may perform screening tests administered to applicants if the employer's testing facilities comply with the requirements for testing laboratories under this subsection. Any Except as provided in subsection 5-A, any substance abuse test administered under this subchapter must be performed in a qualified testing laboratory that complies with this subsection.
Effective July 25, 2002, unless otherwise indicated.
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