In Florida, private sector employers are neither required nor prohibited from requiring employees to undergo drug and alcohol testing.
Florida has a Drug-Free Workplace Act that sets forth certain procedures for employers to follow in conducing job applicant testing, reasonable suspicion testing, follow-up testing, and routine fitness-for-duty testing. An employer is not required by law to follow these procedures. But an employer that adopts policies that comply with the Drug-Free Workplace Act may receive a discount on workers’ compensation premiums, and may be able to deny workers’ compensation benefits to any employee that refuses to submit to drug or alcohol testing, or tests positive for drugs or alcohol following a workers’ compensation-related injury in the workplace. §440.101(2) & 440.102(2), Fla. Stat.
Drug and alcohol testing may have implications under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Disability-related inquiries and medical examinations of employees must be “job-related and consistent with business necessity.” A blood, urine or breath analysis to test for alcohol use would have to meet this standard because alcoholism is a disability under the ADA. But a test to detect the current illegal use of drugs would not have to meet this standard because illegal drug use is not protected under the ADA.