A federal court in Minnesota has ruled that Minnesota’s Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (DATWA), Minn. Stat. Sections 950-957, does not apply to employees who work or are applying to work outside the state of Minnesota. Olson v. Push, Inc., No. 14-1163 (ADM/JJK) (D. Minn. Aug. 19, 2014).
In Olson, the plaintiff resided in Minnesota and accepted an offer of employment in West Virginia from Push, a Wisconsin-based company. Push originally asked Olson to submit to drug testing at a clinic in Wisconsin. For convenience purposes, however, it allowed him to be tested in Minnesota. Push determined that the drug test result was “too diluted” and terminated his employment. Under DATWA, Olson would have had the right to a confirmatory test, and possibly treatment, before termination, as well as many other protections, so he brought a lawsuit challenging the termination of his employment. Push argued that DATWA did not apply and moved to dismiss the complaint.
The decision is a rare bit of good news for employers who might be facing lawsuits under this strict Minnesota statute.
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