Oklahoma has long been considered an employee-friendly state on the issue of drug and alcohol testing by employers. As Oklahoma employers know all too well, the Oklahoma Standards for Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Act places significant restrictions on an employer’s ability to conduct testing and creates several hyper-technical and procedural obstacles for employers to navigate. The unfortunate result has been frequent litigation by disgruntled former employees, often with the employee being reinstated despite testing positive for drugs or alcohol.

Objections by employers to this state of the law have finally won out. On May 9, 2011, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed into law a set of sweeping changes designed to improve the Act and to provide employers more flexibility in eliminating undesirable employees. McAfee & Taft’s Labor & Employment attorneys, led by Sam Fulkerson, played a significant role in assisting The State Chamber of Oklahoma in proposing, drafting and championing these changes.

Highlights of the new law, which becomes effective November 1, 2011, include the following...