Appeals court rules on drug testing under Iowa law

It’s no surprise to any Iowa employer that the state has one of the most complex drug testing statutes in the country. Iowa Code §730.5 places the burden specifically on the employer to show strict compliance and can be complicated to navigate with its myriad of notice and policy provisions. The Iowa Court of Appeals issued two recent decisions relating to the Iowa drug testing statute that employers will want to pay attention to.

Confirmatory drug test costs

The first involved a standard drug testing claim. Lucas Woods was terminated from his job at Charles Gabus Ford for failing a drug test. He claimed his firing was inappropriate under Iowa law because the company didn’t send him the post-test notice marked “return receipt requested,” as required by the law.

He also claimed the company’s supervisory personnel didn’t have adequate training to supervise or administer its drug testing program and the notice that he failed to pass the drug test didn’t specifically include the cost of a confirmatory drug test as required by the law.

Although the appellate court didn’t find the return receipt request compelling, it did reverse the lower court’s dismissal of Woods’ claim on the basis that the cost of the confirmatory drug test wasn’t included in the post-test notice. The court concluded this was a clear violation.

The court noted the statute specifically requires the cost of a confirmatory drug test be included in the notice letter and that failure to do so could impede Woods’ ability to request the second confirmatory test. Lucas Woods v. Charles Gabus Ford Inc.