2018 Mississippi Code
Title 71 - Labor and Industry
Chapter 7 - Drug and Alcohol Testing of Employees
§ 71-7-13. Designation of employee or applicant as handicapped due to test result; discharge, discipline, etc., of employee on basis of test result or refusal to submit; construction and application of chapter generally.

(1) An employee or job applicant whose drug and alcohol test result is confirmed as positive in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall not, by virtue of the result alone, be defined as a person with a “handicap.”

(2) An employer who discharges or disciplines an employee on the basis of a positive confirmed drug and alcohol test in accordance with this chapter shall be considered to have discharged or disciplined the employee for cause.

(3) An employee discharged on the basis of a confirmed positive drug and alcohol test in accordance with this chapter shall be considered to have been discharged for willful misconduct.

(4) A physician-patient relationship is not created between an employee or job applicant, and an employer or any person performing or evaluating the drug and alcohol test, solely by the establishment or implementation of a drug and alcohol testing program.

(5) This chapter does not prevent an employer from establishing reasonable work rules related to employee possession, use, sale or solicitation of drugs, including convictions for drug-related offenses, and taking action based upon a violation of any of those rules.

(6) This chapter shall not be retroactive and shall not abrogate any right an employer may have to conduct drug and alcohol tests prior to July 1, 1991. A drug and alcohol test conducted by an employer before July 1, 1991, shall not be subject to this chapter.

(7) If an employee refuses to submit to drug and alcohol testing administered in accordance with this chapter, the employer shall not be barred from discharging, or disciplining, or referring the employee to a drug abuse assessment, treatment and rehabilitation program at a site certified by the Department of Mental Health.

(8) An employer, in addition to any appropriate personnel actions, may refer any employee found to have violated the employer’s policy on drug use to an employee assistance program for assessment, counseling and referral for treatment or rehabilitation as appropriate. Such treatment or rehabilitation shall be at a site certified by the Department of Mental Health.

(9) This chapter does not prohibit an employer from conducting medical screening or other tests required by any statute, rule or regulation for the purpose of monitoring exposure of employees to toxic or other unhealthy substances in the workplace or in the performance of job responsibilities. Such screenings or tests shall be limited to the specific substances expressly identified in the applicable statute, rule or regulation, unless prior written consent of the employee is obtained for other tests.

(10) An employer may temporarily suspend or transfer an employee to another position after obtaining the results of a positive on-site initial test. An employer may discharge an employee after obtaining the results of a positive confirmed test.

(11) Nothing in this chapter shall affect any right of an employer to terminate the employment of any person for reasons not related to a drug and alcohol testing program implemented pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.