Drug Testing Bill Delayed

After a hearing of nearly five hours, members of the House Human Resources Committee won’t make a decision until next week on a bill that sponsors say is designed to help employers produce a drug-free work place.

Opponents argued that the bill would do away with years of precedent, lead to a huge increase in the number of court battles and favor employers over workers.

The committee is working on legislation encouraging employers to give their workers drug and alcohol tests, with the incentive of a 5 percent reduction in worker’s compensation premiums for four years.

David Minert, who heads a Meridian drug-testing company, Minert and Associates, said current laws allow a worker to receive worker’s compensation for work-related injuries, even though that worker may have been drinking or taking drugs.

The law says unless an employer can prove a worker was intoxicated, and that caused the accident, the company must pay worker compensation benefits.

His bill would reverse the thrust of current law and declare that a positive reading on a drug test would be grounds for reducing a worker’s injury award by half.