New Mexico Drug Testing Laws and Regulations

There are some states that have explicit and comprehensive laws that either prohibit or regulate drug testing laws in private companies. To date, there are no New Mexico drug testing laws that restrict or control drug testing for prospective and current employees by their employer. In general, Federal government law does require New Mexico drug tests for those with jobs in industries such as aviation, transportation and contractors with the Department of Defense and NASA. As a whole, employers are at liberty to apply drug testing program in New Mexico.

Since there are no explicit New Mexico drug testing law that applies to private employment, it does not mean that an employee is left unprotected in the event of an illegal drug test. How is this?

Discrimination based on Disability: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an employee or prospective employee is not liable for a positive result on his New Mexico drug test if he is taking medication for his disability. It is a fact that there are some prescribed medications that will yield positive results on a drug test and that there are “illegal” drugs that are legitimately prescribed by doctors for specific medical conditions. In these circumstances, an employer has no grounds to disqualify or terminate a prospective employee or employee, unless the drug in question is medical marijuana.

Discrimination based on Race, Religion, Gender or Age: An employer is liable to discrimination if he requires a certain group of employees based on the mentioned particulars on New Mexico drug testing. If an employer subjects employees or prospective employees to any indecent act to undergo drug test in New Mexico, he is liable to invasion of privacy. It goes without saying that in the event that an employer knowingly and maliciously leaks the result of a false positive drug test of a prospective employee or employee, he is liable to a case of defamation.

If an employee tests positive in a drug test in New Mexico, the concerned employer has the right to file either an economic or non-economic action against the known illegal drug distributor. An employer is free from the obligation of shouldering unemployment benefits of an employee fired from his job based on his positive drug test. Should an employee suffer a work-related injury while he is under the influence of illegal drugs, the employer is not liable but not when the employer fully knows that the employee is using prohibited drugs. This stipulation does not apply to employees who are using prohibited drugs prescribed by a legitimate medical practitioner.