CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has approved a bill requiring employers in West Virginia’s mining industry to report all positive drug and alcohol tests to the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training.
The bill signed Friday takes effect immediately. Employers must notify the administration within seven days if an employee tests positive, refuses a urine sample, or has submitted an adulterated sample. Suspect employees will be suspended from work until they appear before a board of appeals.
New hires must submit to a pre-employment urine test.
Prior to this law, mine industry employers were only required to submit test results to the state if a miner was fired.
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