Arizona Laws 23-493.07. Causes of action based on test results
A. No cause of action is or may be established for any person against an employer who has established a program of drug testing or alcohol impairment testing in accordance with this article, unless the employer’s action was based on a false positive test result and the employer knew or clearly should have known that the result was in error and ignored the true test result because of reckless or malicious disregard for the truth or the wilful intent to deceive or be deceived.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 23-493.07
- Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Alcohol: means ethanol, isopropanol or methanol. See Arizona Laws 23-493
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Employer: means this state, a political subdivision of this state or any person, firm, company, corporation, labor organization, employment agency or joint labor-management committee, including any public utility, transit district or special taxing district organized pursuant to Title 48, Chapter 17 or 22, that has one or more full-time employees employed in the same business, or in or about the same establishment, under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written. See Arizona Laws 23-493
- Good faith: means reasonable reliance on fact, or that which is held out to be factual, without the intent to deceive or be deceived and without reckless or malicious disregard for the truth. See Arizona Laws 23-493
- Impairment: means symptoms that a prospective employee or employee while working may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol that may decrease or lessen the employee's performance of the duties or tasks of the employee's job position, including symptoms of the employee's speech, walking, standing, physical dexterity, agility, coordination, actions, movement, demeanor, appearance, clothing, odor, irrational or unusual behavior, negligence or carelessness in operating equipment, machinery or production or manufacturing processes, disregard for the safety of the employee or others, involvement in an accident that results in serious damage to equipment, machinery or property, disruption of a production or manufacturing process, any injury to the employee or others or other symptoms causing a reasonable suspicion of the use of drugs or alcohol. See Arizona Laws 23-493
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
B. In any claim, including a claim under this article, if it is alleged that an employer’s action was based on a false positive test result:
1. There is a rebuttable presumption that the test result was valid if the employer complied with the provisions of this article.
2. The employer is not liable for monetary damages if its reliance on a false positive test result was reasonable and in good faith.
C. There is no employer liability for any action taken related to a false negative drug test or alcohol impairment test.