Are you ready for the change?
Effective January 2024, companies in California and Washington will no longer be able to take employment action on a positive THC test that was performed with a traditional urine test.
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Find out more about this law change
Learn how to continue with your drug testing program
Explore how we can help you pilot oral fluid testing alongside your current drug program, and make the transition from traditional drug screening to rapid oral fluid with ease
Our team at Premier Biotech is prepared and ready to support this change with the go-to solution that will benefit your business in these changing time
Washington and California employers are now prohibited in many situations from discriminating against employees for off-duty cannabis use that may show up as non-psychoactive metabolites in a traditional urine drug test.
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act officially added new anti-discrimination protections for marijuana users, effective January 2024. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the new law, AB 2188, in September 2022. This law makes it unlawful for most employers to discriminate against a person for hiring, termination, or for any term or condition of employment based on drug testing where cannabis (THC) metabolites are used for detection. Exceptions are within the construction trades and positions that require federal background investigation or security clearance.
Industry Moves to Oral Fluid Testing!
So what does this mean?
When someone consumes marijuana (THC), the body metabolizes the drug into a non-psychoactive form. Traditional urine-based drug testing is based on the detection of these metabolites in a person’s system. Since the new law excludes the detection of non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in most workplace settings, urine drug testing will no longer be an option in most workplace settings.
On the other hand, oral fluid based drug testing is based on the detection of the parent drug in cannabis, not the metabolites. Since the new law effectively limits workplace testing for cannabis metabolites, oral fluid testing is the ideal testing option for employers.
AB-2188 Discrimination in employment: use of cannabis.(2021-2022)
The Market Is Moving
DOT and SAMHSA have endorsed adding oral fluid based drug testing as an alternative to urine-based testing.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has endorsed the use of oral fluid as an option for the Federal Workplace Drug Testing Program. In the same way, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has also endorsed oral fluid based drug testing as an alternative to traditional urine-based drug testing.
DOT reports the detection window for marijuana metabolites in urine can be up to 67 days. This long detection window aligns with concerns about using these metabolites for workplace testing because a positive test does not imply recent use. The detection window for marijuana is shorter in oral fluid, up to 24 hours for the detection of the parent drug. This makes rapid oral fluid testing a viable approach for monitoring the recent use of THC. Since oral fluid based drug testing is not limited to the detection of cannabis metabolites, rapid oral fluid testing devices, like OralTox, will be a best option moving forward for workplace testing in California.
Now is the best time to switch to oral fluid based testing. Changing from traditional urine screening to rapid oral fluid based testing will save you considerable time, money, and resources, ultimately improving the hiring process as it streamlines the screening procedure.
Oral Fluid vs. Urine Testing
Our industry experts are prepared and ready to support this change with the go-to solution that will benefit your business.
OralTox® and OT-Scan®
OralTox® is a rapid oral fluid drug test that delivers fast, accurate results anytime and anywhere. Pair with the custom mobile OT-Scan® app, for rapid results interpretation at your fingertips.
100% observed collection
Results in less than 10 minutes
Save time and money while improving accuracy and efficiency
Results independently interpreted by OT-Scan App
