(1) DEFINITIONS.—Except where the context otherwise requires, as used in this act:

(a) “Chain of custody” refers to the methodology of tracking specified materials or substances for the purpose of maintaining control and accountability from initial collection to final disposition for all such materials or substances and providing for accountability at each stage in handling, testing, and storing specimens and reporting test results.

(b) “Confirmation test,” “confirmed test,” or “confirmed drug test” means a second analytical procedure used to identify the presence of a specific drug or metabolite in a specimen, which test must be different in scientific principle from that of the initial test procedure and must be capable of providing requisite specificity, sensitivity, and quantitative accuracy.

(c) “Drug” means alcohol, including a distilled spirit, wine, a malt beverage, or an intoxicating liquor; an amphetamine; a cannabinoid; cocaine; phencyclidine (PCP); a hallucinogen; methaqualone; an opiate; a barbiturate; a benzodiazepine; a synthetic narcotic; a designer drug; or a metabolite of any of the substances listed in this paragraph. An employer may test an individual for any or all of such drugs.

For the remainder of the Florida Statute on Employment Drug Testing: Click Here

Below are certain procedures required by SAMHSA’s guidelines to ensure accuracy and validity of the testing process:

• Florida Drug Testing Terms and Definitions

• Chain of Custody: A chain-of-custody form is used to document the handling and storage of a sample from the time it is collected until the time it is disposed.  It links an individual to his or her sample and is written proof of all that happens to the specimen while at the collection site and the laboratory.

• Initial Screen: The first analysis done on a sample is called an initial screen.  This one test alone is not always accurate or reliable; there is a possibility of a false positive. 

• Thus, in the event that the initial screen is positive, a second confirmatory test should be done.

• Confirmation Test:  A second, confirmation test (by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry or GC/MS) is highly accurate and provides specificity to help rule out any false positives (mistakes) from the initial screen.  

• For a test result to be reported as positive, the initial screen and confirmation test results must agree.

• Split Sample:  A split sample is created when an initial urine sample is split into two.  One sample is used for the initial screen and, if positive, the second sample is used for the confirmation test. 

• If there is a positive result, the individual being tested may request the confirmation test be done at a different laboratory. 

• DOT’s alcohol and drug-testing regulations require all tests be performed using a “split sample” collection process.

In the event that the initial screen and confirmation test are both positive,  MRO, a licensed medical doctor who has special training in the area of substance abuse, then reviews the results, makes sure the chain-of-custody procedures were followed, and contacts the individual to make sure there are no medical or other reasons for the result. 

It is only at this point that the MRO may report a positive test result to the employer.  Certain medications can sometimes cause a positive result. 

If this is the case, and a doctor prescribed the medicine and the employee used it in the proper amount, the test is reported as negative.

For further information on the Florida Employment Drug Screening services that we offer:  Click Here

Along with pre-employment drug screening, we also offer a complete menu of all other employment screening services from criminal records checks to instant state driving records. For a complete listing and description of the other pre-employment screening services we offer,  please Click Here.