04/15/2024 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

            SB 196-EMPLOYER DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:31:05 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SUMNER announced  that the next order of  business would be                                                               
SENATE  BILL  NO. 196,  "An  Act  relating  to drug  and  alcohol                                                               
testing by employers."                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:31:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  JESSE  BJORKMAN,  Alaska  State  Legislature,  as  prime                                                               
sponsor,  read  the sponsor  statement  to  SB 196  [included  in                                                               
committee packet],  which read  as follows  [original punctuation                                                               
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Senate Bill  196 would  add oral  fluid, or  saliva, to                                                                    
     the statutory  list of samples an  employer may collect                                                                    
     from an  employee for drug  and alcohol  testing. While                                                                    
     an  employer could  already choose  to collect  an oral                                                                    
     fluid  sample  instead of  a  urine  or breath  sample,                                                                    
     adding the collection of oral  fluid in this section of                                                                    
     statute  protects   the  employer  from   legal  claims                                                                    
     related  to  drug  or alcohol  testing  and  subsequent                                                                    
     employment actions.                                                                                                        
     Collecting  urine  or  breath samples  for  job-related                                                                    
     testing can have drawbacks. Using  an oral fluid sample                                                                    
     mitigates  the  challenges   of  these  other  methods.                                                                    
     Collecting  or  testing  a  urine  sample  can  require                                                                    
     taking the time to travel  to an off-site facility, and                                                                    
     urine samples  are susceptible  to cheating  unless the                                                                    
     sample collection is observed by another person.                                                                           
     In contrast, oral  fluid is collected with  a swab, can                                                                    
     be easily collected  at the job site  without needing a                                                                    
     restroom, and  can be certain  to be from  the employee                                                                    
     without  significantly  invading their  privacy.  While                                                                    
     urine tests provide evidence of  the use of a drug over                                                                    
     a  longer  window of  time,  oral  fluid can  show  the                                                                    
     presence  of drugs  in a  person's system  more quickly                                                                    
     and at lower concentrations for some substances.                                                                           
     In addition  to the  lower barriers for  collection and                                                                    
     testing, oral  fluid testing may  be lower in  cost for                                                                    
     the  employer  than   other  methods.  Together,  these                                                                    
     attributes  could  allow   for  more  frequent  testing                                                                    
     leading  to greater  on-the-job  safety for  employees,                                                                    
     their coworkers, and members of the public.                                                                                
     The   United   States  Department   of   Transportation                                                                    
     promulgated regulations  in 2023 allowing  employers to                                                                    
     collect  and test  oral  fluid  samples for  commercial                                                                    
     driver's  license holders,  and  requiring  the use  of                                                                    
     oral  fluid  testing  for  transgender  and  non-binary                                                                    
     people as same-gender observers  are required for urine                                                                    
     sample collections.  Public comment on  the regulations                                                                    
     package  suggests  that  the   option  for  oral  fluid                                                                    
     testing  will be  very well  received  by employees  in                                                                    
     addition to the benefits it provides to employers.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:33:05 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS asked whether an employer would still be                                                                  
able to perform hair follicle testing under SB 196.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR BJORKMAN answered yes.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:33:50 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TAIHYA  THOMAS,  Human  Resources  Manager,  Barrow  Utilities  &                                                               
Electric Coop Inc,  gave invited testimony in support  of SB 196.                                                               
She shared information about drug  and alcohol testing at her co-                                                               
op.   She  mentioned that  during the  COVID-19 pandemic,  no one                                                               
signed  up to  be  urine  collectors, so  it  had  to be  shipped                                                               
because testing  is required  to keep status.   She  detailed how                                                               
unobtrusive  oral swab  testing  is different  compared to  urine                                                               
samples and  added that  once oral  testing becomes  approved for                                                               
drivers  with commercial  driver's  licenses  (CDLs), there  will                                                               
still be  more work  ahead to see  other industries  follow suit.                                                               
She noted that  oral swab testing is cheaper and  added that oral                                                               
testing did not exist when the  safe harbor law was passed, so it                                                               
was  never included  in the  law as  a protected  testing method.                                                               
She said SB 196 would  cure this inconsistency and give employers                                                               
and  employees  the  same rules  and  protections  regardless  of                                                               
testing  method  and  urged  committee  members  to  support  the                                                               
proposed legislation.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:39:06 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK  asked whether blood testing  is ever used                                                               
for investigations.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR BJORKMAN  answered that blood  testing is a  "safe harbor                                                               
option."                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:40:12 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
LAURA  ACHEE,   Staff,  Senator  Jesse  Bjorkman,   Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, on  behalf of Senator Jesse  Bjorkman, prime sponsor                                                               
of SB 196 added that either urine  or breath can be sampled by an                                                               
employer.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:41:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS said he supported  SB 196 and asked whether                                                               
other  states  have  approved other  testing  methods  like  ones                                                               
proposed under SB 196.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  BJORKMAN  responded  that   he  could  not  answer  that                                                               
question at this time.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:42:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SUMNER announced that SB 196 was held over.