On May 10, the Department of Labor officially nullified a rule passed during the Obama administration that limited states’ ability to require mandatory drug testing for individuals applying for unemployment benefits.
As we covered in an earlier blog, OSHA’s new electronic recordkeeping rule (which is currently the subject of legal challenge) contains anti-retaliation language which OSHA has interpreted as preventing employers, except in limited situations, from implementing mandatory post-accident drug testing.
Although the nullified rule was issued by the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, one reading tea leaves might well predict that the principle at play may well extend to OSHA’s retaliation rule soon.
As an aside, as of the date of this blog, OSHA has yet to open its website for the electronic submission of injury and illness logs that certain employers are required to submit by July 1 under the new recordkeeping rule. It seems likely that, at minimum, the deadline for submission may be extended.
