Employee Drug Testing Laws in Illinois

The Prairie State is one in the U.S. that has not enacted specific laws of its own to govern drug and alcohol testing for private businesses, but the state allows private companies to require workers to follow the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. This action by the state to allow or encourage drug testing programs in private companies is similar to that followed by many other states. In general, federal court rulings say that state and local governments cannot require private employers to test for drugs and alcohol. But states do provide incentives for companies that put such drug-testing programs in place. For instance, a business can get a 5 percent discount on workers’ compensation insurance premiums if it has a written drug-testing policy.

The state does have a Drug-Free Workplace Act that applies to private businesses that hold a contract with the state of $5,000 or more and that employ at least 25 people. But again, this is not a blanket law that applies to all private companies. The law basically attempts to maintain quality control over the products and services sold to the state by holding suppliers to a specific set of rules. Illinois also has a Human Rights Act and groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others advise private companies that they can require workers to meet the standards of the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, including the use of reasonable drug testing procedures, without violating this Human Rights Act.

In my research on Employee Drug Testing Laws in Illinois, especially using Illinois government information, I was led to many county and local government policies that follow federal guidelines for a drug-free workplace. These local governments include small cities and several school districts. For instance, Tazewell County includes reference to drug-testing policy in outlining its grievance procedure. The Village of Rantoul includes drug-testing information in its employment guidelines. The binding arbitration practices of the State of Illinois also include rules for drug and alcohol testing.

I hope this short summary answers some of the questions you may have about Employee Drug Testing Laws in Illinois, or at least will lead you to seek more information about this important subject.