Tennessee Workers’ Comp Law on Drug Testing Takes Effect

A new workers’ compensation law on drug testing became effective, July 1, in Tennessee.

Supported by the state’s business community, the new law changes the standard of proof workers must meet to prove that a positive drug test, or a refusal to submit to a drug test, was not the cause of an injury in order to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.

Tennessee’s workers’ compensation law has long included a provision stating that an injured employee that has a blood alcohol level equal to or greater than 0.08 for non-safety positions, or 0.04 percent for safety¬-sensitive positions, then it is presumed that the alcohol was the cause of the injury. The same holds true for a positive drug test. Workers could rebut the presumption if they could prove to a workers’ compensation judge that the drug or alcohol was not the cause of the injury by a “preponderance of the evidence.” The same legal standard also applies in cases where an injured worker refuses to submit to a test following an injury.

Under the new law, the legal standard is raised from a “preponderance of the evidence” to “clear and convincing evidence.”

Generally, a preponderance of the evidence is evidence that is more believable than the evidence that is offered in opposition to it. If there is a more than 50 percent chance that the injured worker’s assertion that drugs or alcohol paid no role in an accident, the judge must find for the worker and award them benefits.

Under the clear and convincing evidence standard, the worker must prove to the judge that there is a reasonable certainty that the facts they offer in the case are true.

Topics Workers' Compensation Tennessee