What happened?

On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, Governor Dunleavy signed SB 196 into law.

What are the details?

This law provides employers a simpler way to conduct drug and alcohol testing of employees when necessary because it adds saliva testing or “oral fluids” to the samples an employer may collect for testing.

In the Alaskan Senate Press Release: “…this new option of testing saliva provides a faster, easier, and less invasive method for employers to check if employees are under the influence of drugs and alcohol on the job…This method doesn’t require access to a restroom to collect the sample and it makes it far less awkward to confirm the sample is from the person being tested.”

Business Considerations

• Employers should update their drug testing policies to include the “oral fluids” test as a new possible test, if applicable.
• Employers should consider incorporating oral fluid tests since they offer several advantages such as quick and easy test administration, directly observed specimen collection (which makes samples less susceptible to tampering), non-intrusive and comfortable testing, and flexible options for collections.

Source References

• AK 196
• Alaska Senate Press Release
• Alaska Legislature passes bill enabling employers to use saliva tests for drugs, alcohol (Alaska Public Media)

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