Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-9-106 (2026)

• (a) To the extent permitted by law, a covered employer who establishes a drug-free workplace is required to conduct the following types of drug or alcohol tests:
  • (1)Job Applicant Drug and Alcohol Testing. A covered employer must, after a conditional offer of employment, require job applicants to submit to a drug test and may use a refusal to submit to a drug test or a positive confirmed drug test as a basis for refusing to hire a job applicant. An employer may, but is not required to, test job applicants, after a conditional offer of employment, for alcohol. Limited testing of applicants, only if it is based on a reasonable classification basis, is permissible in accordance with division rule;
  • (2) Reasonable-Suspicion Drug and Alcohol Testing. A covered employer must require an employee to submit to reasonable-suspicion drug or alcohol testing. A written record shall be made of the observations leading to a controlled substances reasonable suspicion test within twenty-four (24) hours of the observed behavior or before the results of the test are released, whichever is earlier. A copy of this documentation shall be given to the employee upon request, and the original documentation shall be kept confidential by the covered employer pursuant to § 50-9-109 and shall be retained by the covered employer for at least one (1) year;
  • (3)Routine Fitness-For-Duty Drug Testing.
    • (A) A covered employer shall require an employee to undergo drug or alcohol testing if, as a part of the employer's written policy, the test is conducted as a routine part of a routinely scheduled employee fitness-for-duty medical examination, or is scheduled routinely for all members of an employment classification or group; provided, that a public employer may require scheduled, periodic testing only of employees who:
      • (i) Are police or peace officers;
      • (ii) Have drug interdiction responsibilities;
      • (iii) Are authorized to carry firearms;
      • (iv) Are engaged in activities that directly affect the safety of others;
      • (v) Work in direct contact with inmates in the custody of the department of correction; or
      • (vi) Work in direct contact with minors who have been adjudicated delinquent or who are in need of supervision in the custody of the department of children's services;
    • (B) This subdivision (a)(3) does not require a drug or alcohol test if a covered employer's personnel policy on July 1, 1998, does not include drug or alcohol testing as part of a routine fitness-for-duty medical examination. The test shall be conducted in a nondiscriminatory manner. Routine fitness-for-duty drug or alcohol testing of employees does not apply to volunteer employee health screenings, employee wellness programs, programs mandated by governmental agencies, or medical surveillance procedures that involve limited examinations targeted to a particular body part or function;
  • (4)Follow-Up Drug Testing. If the employee in the course of employment enters an employee assistance program for drug-related or alcohol-related problems, or a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program, the covered employer must require the employee to submit to a drug and alcohol test, as appropriate, as a follow-up to the program, unless the employee voluntarily entered the program. In those cases, the covered employer has the option to not require follow-up testing. If follow-up testing is required, it must be conducted at least once a year for a two-year period after completion of the program. Advance notice of a follow-up testing date must not be given to the employee to be tested; and
  • (5)Post-Accident Testing. After an accident that results in an injury, as defined in chapter 3 of this title, and the rules promulgated under chapter 3 of this title, the covered employer shall require the employee to submit to a drug or alcohol test in accordance with this chapter.

• (b) This chapter does not preclude an employer from conducting any lawful testing of employees for drugs or alcohol that is in addition to the minimum testing required under this chapter.

Acts 1996, ch. 944, §50; 1997 , ch. 533, §§ 34- 39; 1998, ch. 1024, §§ 8 - 10.