By: Williams, et al. S.B. No. 21
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to drug screening or testing as a condition for the receipt
of unemployment compensation benefits by certain individuals.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 207.021, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) An individual for whom suitable work is available only
in an occupation designated by United States Department of Labor
regulation as an occupation that regularly conducts preemployment
drug testing is available for work for purposes of Subsection
(a)(4) only if the individual complies with the applicable
requirements of the drug screening and testing program administered
by the commission under Section 207.026. The commission shall
adopt rules for determining the type of work that is suitable for an
individual for purposes of this subsection.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 207, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 207.026 to read as follows:
Sec. 207.026. DRUG SCREENING OR TESTING AS CONDITION OF
BENEFIT ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN APPLICANTS AND RECIPIENTS.
(a) The commission by rule shall adopt a drug screening and
testing program as part of the requirements for the receipt of
benefits under this subtitle by an individual to whom Section
207.021(b-1) applies. The program must:
(1) comply with the drug testing requirements of 49
C.F.R. Part 382 or other similar national requirements for drug
testing programs recognized by the commission; and
(2) be designed to protect the rights of benefit
applicants and recipients.
(b) Under the program, each individual to whom Section
207.021(b-1) applies who files an initial claim must submit to and
pass a drug screening assessment developed and administered by or
on behalf of the commission for purposes of this subsection as a
prerequisite to receiving benefits under this subtitle. The
assessment tool used under this subsection must consist of a
written questionnaire to be completed by the individual applying
for benefits and must be designed to accurately determine the
reasonable likelihood that an individual is using a substance that
is subject to regulation under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code.
An individual whose drug screening assessment indicates a
reasonable likelihood of use by the individual of a substance
subject to regulation under that chapter must submit to and pass a
drug test administered by or on behalf of the commission to
establish the individual's eligibility for benefits under this
subtitle. An individual who is determined to have failed a drug
test under this subsection under a final determination or decision
made by the commission under this section is not eligible to receive
benefits under this subtitle until the individual has passed a
subsequent drug test administered by or on behalf of the commission
not earlier than four weeks after the date the individual submitted
to the failed drug test.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), an individual is not
disqualified from receiving benefits based on the individual's
failure to pass a drug test if, on the basis of evidence presented
by the individual, the commission determines that:
(1) the individual is participating in a treatment
program for drug abuse;
(2) the individual enrolls in and attends a treatment
program for drug abuse not later than the seventh day after the date
the individual receives initial notice of the failed drug test
result; or
(3) the failure to pass the test is caused by the use
of a substance that was prescribed by a health care practitioner as
medically necessary for the individual.
(d) The commission by rule shall prescribe procedures for an
appeal and the retaking of a failed drug test by an individual under
this section.
(e) The commission's procedures for an appeal and the
retaking of a failed drug test under Subsection (d) must provide
for:
(1) the provision to each individual who fails a drug
test under Subsection (b) of:
(A) privacy with regard to the individual's test
result for at least 10 days following the date the individual
receives initial notice of the result during which the individual
may appeal the result or retake the failed drug test; and
(B) prompt notice regarding:
(i) the manner in which the individual may
appeal the result or retake the failed drug test; and
(ii) common potential causes of a false
positive test result; and
(2) full payment by the commission of the costs of the
retaking of failed drug tests by any individual who contests the
individual's failed drug test as a false positive result and passes
a subsequently taken test.
(f) The commission shall administer the program under this
section using existing administrative funds and any funds
appropriated to the commission for the purposes of this section.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a claim for unemployment compensation benefits that is filed with
the Texas Workforce Commission on or after February 1, 2014.
SECTION 4. If before implementing any provision of this Act
a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
waiver or authorization is granted.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.