“Oklahoma just by far had the most requirements of what had to be included in policy and some of the toughest penalties in terms of technical violations of policies,” he says.

But Nov. 1, employers will receive a reprieve. In May, Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law a sweeping set of changes to the existing act.

Whatley says his own firm, led by Sam Fulkerson, played a large part in assisting The State Chamber to lobby successfully for the changes. The new language eases the restrictions on employers and removes much of the burden in requiring drug and alcohol tests.

“Businesses just felt like there were so many technical requirements, and there was so much push-back in terms of people testing positive for drug use and not even denying they had used drugs and still trying to fight for unemployment, saying there was a technical issue,” Whatley says. “There was a desire to simplify those things.”

He says the Oklahoma Standards for Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing act placed significant restrictions on employers and their ability to test those individuals suspected of on-the-job abuse.

That has led to employers being the target of frequent litigation from disgruntled employees and even employers having to reinstate employees after tests.

The testing process largely remains the same. The language may have changed, but employees still are able to request a confirmation test of a positive result.

“It broadens the circumstances under which testing could occur, and simplified the process in terms of the impact of drug testing on worker’s compensation or unemployment claims,” Whatley says.

The rules also applied to contractors who might work for a company, something that previously was not allowed.

“It’s a lower standard, and there are fewer hoops to jump through in terms of the situations that can lead to drug testing,” Whatley says. “Here, they just have to have a reasonable belief that drugs or alcohol might have been used or there might be a policy violation.”

Now employers can cite reports of past abuse, attendance patterns or drugs found near an employee to justify a drug test.

Now employers also can collect attorney fees once they have successfully defended a claim involving drug testing. These changes helped smaller businesses by removing the requirement of having an employee-assistance program in place.

“This legislation updates our state’s drug-testing laws to protect not only the employer, but also the employee,” says State Chamber President Fred Morgan.