A common occurrence when employees are confronted with a requirement to take a drug test: they often confess. Sometimes they suggest that the employer need not bother with the test because they know they will test positive. Under the Minnesota Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (“DATWA”), admissions of drug use and a positive drug test have very different legal ramifications. In Minnesota, “an employer may not discharge an employee for whom a positive drug test result. . . was the first such result for the employee on a drug or alcohol test requested by the employer” unless the employee has been given the opportunity to participate in and complete a drug counseling or rehabilitation program.

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