New Jersey Drug Testing Laws for Employers

The Paired Evaluation Requirement

Under N.J.S.A. 24:6I-52.a.(1), a cannabis test used to support employment action must combine two things: a scientifically reliable objective testing method, and a physical evaluation of the employee conducted by an individual certified to opine on workplace impairment.

That is a structural difference from every other state on this site. In California or New York the question is what a result permits you to conclude. In New Jersey, a test without the accompanying evaluation is not a basis for action at all, regardless of what it shows.

What Testing Is Still Allowed

More than employers assume. The same paragraph expressly contemplates cannabis testing done randomly, as part of pre-employment screening, as regular screening of current employees, upon reasonable suspicion of use during work responsibilities, upon observable signs of intoxication, or following a workplace accident.

So the restriction is not on when you test. It is on what a result, standing alone, can be used to prove.

The Notice Obligation After a Positive

New Jersey adds a procedural step most states do not have. Where an employer has a drug testing policy and someone tests positive for cannabis, N.J.S.A. 24:6I-6.1(b)(1) requires the employer to offer an opportunity to present a legitimate medical explanation, give written notice of that right, and allow three working days to respond.

Two details catch employers out: it covers job applicants as well as employees, and the notice must be written. Building it into the results workflow is easier than remembering it case by case.

A Recent Change Worth Checking

The employer provisions were amended by P.L.2025, c.325, approved January 20, 2026 and effective the ninetieth day after enactment. It renamed the certification from Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert to Evaluator and moved the consultation role to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission's published workplace impairment guidance dates from September 2022, uses the former terminology, and describes the framework as applying until standards are formulated and approved. We could not confirm from a primary source whether those standards have since been adopted, so if you are building a New Jersey process now, confirm the current certification position before relying on it.

Also Protected: Registered Patients

N.J.S.A. 24:6I-6.1(a) prohibits adverse action based solely on someone's status as a registered qualifying medical cannabis patient. That protection is separate from the testing rules and applies independently.

What a New Jersey Program Needs

1. A decision about whether to test for cannabis at all, given that a result alone cannot support action.
2. Access to a certified evaluator, if you intend to act on cannabis results.
3. A documented notice-and-response process meeting the three-working-day requirement.
4. Clear separation of federally regulated roles, which the statute's carve-out preserves.
5. Supervisor training, since observable signs of intoxication are one of the express bases for testing.

New Jersey's large sectors include pharmaceuticals and life sciences, transportation and port operations, healthcare, financial services, chemical manufacturing, and construction, so most employers here have both regulated and non-regulated populations to keep straight.