DRUG TESTING FOR STATE UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION PURPOSES

20 C.F.R. Part 620
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

20 C.F.R. § 620.1 Purpose.

The regulations in this part implement 42 U.S.C. 503(l). 42 U.S.C. 503(l) permits States to enact legislation to provide for State-conducted testing of an unemployment compensation applicant for the unlawful use of controlled substances, as a condition of unemployment compensation eligibility, if the applicant was discharged for unlawful use of controlled substances by his or her most recent employer, or if suitable work (as defined under the State unemployment compensation law) is only available in an occupation for which drug testing is regularly conducted (as determined under this part). 42 U.S.C. 503(l)(1)(A)(ii) provides that the occupations that regularly conduct drug testing will be determined under regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor.

20 C.F.R. § 620.2 Definitions.

As used in this part— Applicant means an individual who files an initial claim for unemployment compensation under State law. Applicant excludes an individual already found initially eligible and filing a continued claim. Controlled substance means a drug or other substance, or immediate precursor, included in schedule I, II, III, IV, or V of part B of 21 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as defined in Sec. 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). The term does not include distilled spirits, wine, malt beverages, or tobacco, as those terms are defined or used in subtitle E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Occupation means a position or class of positions with similar functions and duties. Federal and State laws governing drug testing refer to classes of positions that are required to be drug tested. Other taxonomies of occupations, such as those in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system, may be used by States in determining the boundaries of a position or class of positions with similar functions and duties under § 620.3. Use of the SOC codes, however, is not required, and States may use other taxonomies to identify a position or class of positions with similar functions and duties. Suitable work means suitable work as defined by the unemployment compensation law of a State against which the claim is filed. It must be the same definition the State law otherwise uses for determining the type of work an individual must seek, given the individual's education, experience, and previous level of remuneration. Unemployment compensation means any cash benefits payable to an individual with respect to the individual's unemployment under the State law (including amounts payable under an agreement under a Federal unemployment compensation law).

20 C.F.R. § 620.3 Occupations that regularly conduct drug testing for purposes of determining which applicants may be drug tested when applying for State unemployment compensation.

In electing to test applicants for unemployment compensation under this part, States may enact legislation to require drug testing for applicants for whom the only suitable work is in one or more of the following occupations that regularly conduct drug testing, for purposes of § 620.4: (a) An occupation that requires the employee to carry a firearm; (b) An occupation identified in 14 CFR 120.105 by the Federal Aviation Administration, in which the employee must be tested; (c) An occupation identified in 49 CFR 382.103 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in which the employee must be tested; (d) An occupation identified in 49 CFR 219.3 by the Federal Railroad Administration, in which the employee must be tested; (e) An occupation identified in 49 CFR 655.3 by the Federal Transit Administration, in which the employee must be tested; (f) An occupation identified in 49 CFR 199.2 by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in which the employee must be tested; (g) An occupation identified in 46 CFR 16.201 by the United States Coast Guard, in which the employee must be tested; (h) An occupation specifically identified in Federal law as requiring an employee to be tested for controlled substances; (i) An occupation specifically identified in the State law of that State as requiring an employee to be tested for controlled substances; and (j) An occupation where the State has a factual basis for finding that employers hiring employees in that occupation conduct pre- or post-hire drug testing as a standard eligibility requirement for obtaining or maintaining employment in the occupation.

20 C.F.R. § 620.4 Testing of unemployment compensation applicants for the unlawful use of a controlled substance.

(a) States may require drug testing for unemployment compensation applicants, as defined in § 620.2, for the unlawful use of one or more controlled substances, as defined in § 620.2, as a condition of eligibility for unemployment compensation, if the individual is one for whom suitable work, as defined in State law, as defined in § 620.2, is only available in an occupation that regularly conducts drug testing as identified under § 620.3. (b) A State conducting drug testing as a condition of unemployment compensation eligibility, as provided in paragraph (a) of this section, may only elect to require drug testing of applicants for whom the only suitable work is available in one or more of the occupations listed under § 620.3. States are not required to apply drug testing to any applicants for whom the only suitable work is available in any or all of the occupations listed. (c) No State is required to drug test UC applicants under this part 620.

20 C.F.R. § 620.5 Conformity and substantial compliance.

(a) In general. A State law implementing the drug testing of applicants for unemployment compensation must conform with—and the law's administration must substantially comply with—the requirements of this part 620 for purposes of certification under 42 U.S.C. 502(a), governing State eligibility to receive Federal grants for the administration of its UC program. (b) Resolving issues of conformity and substantial compliance. For the purposes of resolving issues of conformity and substantial compliance with the requirements of this part 620, the provisions of 20 CFR 601.5 apply.

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