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2018 Georgia Code 34-9-414 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 34-9-414 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 34-9-414

TITLE 34 LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Section 9. Workers' Compensation, 34-9-1 through 34-9-432.

ARTICLE 11 DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE PROGRAMS

34-9-414. Notice of testing; written policy statement.

  1. One time only, prior to testing, all employees and job applicants for employment must be given a notice of testing. In addition, all employees must be given a written policy statement from the employer which contains:
    1. A general statement of the employer's policy on employee substance abuse which shall identify:
      1. The types of testing an employee or job applicant may be required to submit to, including reasonable suspicion or other basis used to determine when such testing will be required; and
      2. The actions the employer may take against an employee or job applicant on the basis of a positive confirmed test result;
    2. A statement advising an employee or job applicant of the existence of this article;
    3. A general statement concerning confidentiality;
    4. The consequences of refusing to submit to a drug test;
    5. A statement advising an employee of the Employee Assistance Program, if the employer offers such program, or advising the employee of the employer's resource file of assistance programs and other persons, entities, or organizations designed to assist employees with personal or behavioral problems;
    6. A statement that an employee or job applicant who receives a positive confirmed test result may contest or explain the result to the employer within five working days after written notification of the positive test result; and
    7. A statement informing an employee of the provisions of the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act or Chapter 23 of Title 45, the "Drug-free Public Work Force Act of 1990," if applicable to the employer.
  2. An employer not having a substance abuse testing program in effect on July 1, 1993, shall ensure that at least 60 days elapse between a general one-time notice to all employees that a substance abuse testing program is being implemented and the beginning of the actual testing.An employer having a substance abuse testing program in place prior to July 1, 1993, shall not be required to provide a 60 day notice period.
  3. An employer shall include notice of substance abuse testing on vacancy announcements for those positions for which testing is required.A notice of the employer's substance abuse testing policy must also be posted in an appropriate and conspicuous location on the employer's premises, and copies of the policy must be made available for inspection by the employees or job applicants of the employer during regular business hours in the employer's personnel office or other suitable locations.

(Code 1981, §34-9-414, enacted by Ga. L. 1993, p. 1512, § 2.)

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1993, paragraph (a)(8) was redesignated as paragraph (a)(7) thereof, since this Code section was enacted without a paragraph (a)(7), and in that paragraph, "Drug-free" was substituted for "Drug-Free".

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Construction of § 34-9-17(b)(3) with § 34-9-414. - Rebuttable presumption of O.C.G.A. § 34-9-17(b)(3) that injury was caused by alcohol or drugs incorporates only the drug testing procedures of O.C.G.A. § 34-9-415, not the notice provisions of O.C.G.A. § 34-9-414. Georgia Self-Insurers Guar. Trust Fund v. Thomas, 269 Ga. 560, 501 S.E.2d 818 (1998), reversing Thomas v. Diamond Rug & Carpet Mills, 226 Ga. App. 403, 486 S.E.2d 664 (1997).

Cited in Georgia-Pacific Corp. v. Ivey, 250 Ga. App. 181, 549 S.E.2d 471 (2001).

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 34-9-414

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Georgia Self-Insurers Guar. Trust Fund v. Thomas, 501 S.E.2d 818 (Ga. 1998).

Cited 8 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jul 6, 1998 | 269 Ga. 560, 98 Fulton County D. Rep. 2379, 14 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 214

...ve their employees a written policy statement identifying "[t]he actions the employer may take against an employee or job applicant on the basis of a positive confirmed test result" and "[t]he consequences of refusing to submit to a drug test." OCGA § 34-9-414(a)(1)(B), (a)(4)....
...in the denial of benefits. The administrative law judge (ALJ) denied Thomas' claim, concluding that the rebuttable presumption authorized by OCGA § 34-9-17(b)(3) was applicable even though Diamond had not complied with the notice provisions of OCGA § 34-9-414....
...ct. Applicability of the rebuttable presumption is, therefore, dependent entirely upon compliance with the procedural requirements for testing established by OCGA § 34-9-415, and not upon the employer's compliance with the notice provisions of OCGA § 34-9-414....
...832, 833, 452 S.E.2d 103 (1995); City of Macon v. Walker, 204 Ga. 810(2), 51 S.E.2d 633 (1949). Thus, the express incorporation of OCGA § 34-7-415 into OCGA § 34-9-17(b)(3) strongly implies the exclusion of all other provisions of the Drug-Free Act, including the notice provisions of OCGA § 34-9-414....
...abuse and maximize workplace productivity while at the same time respecting due process requirements." Recchi America v. Hall, supra at 155. Insofar as equal protection is concerned, no employer's failure to comply with the notice provisions of OCGA § 34-9-414 results in the inapplicability of the rebuttable presumption. For employers who are within the scope of the Drug-Free Act and who fail to comply with the notice provisions of OCGA § 34-9-414, the result is the loss of eligibility for an insurance premium discount....