Employers in North Carolina may require applicants to take a drug test as a condition of employment at the expense of the employer. Applicants have the right to retest a confirmed positive sample at their own expense, at the same lab that confirmed the sample or at another approved lab of their choosing.
North Carolina “finds that individuals should be protected from unreliable and inadequate examinations and screening for controlled substances” (NCGS § 95-230). North Carolina also finds that employers who test employees for controlled substances “shall use reliable and minimally invasive examinations and screenings” (NCGS § 95-230).
If a prospective or current employee has a positive result, they “shall be confirmed by a second examination of the sample utilizing gas chromatography with mass spectrometry or an equivalent scientifically accepted method” (NCGS § 95-230).
To preserve individual dignity and privacy, examiners and their agents must keep information confidential relating to an examinee’s controlled-substance examinations, unless otherwise authorized by law or code (13 NCAC 20.0501).
