Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing
Nebraska Workplace Drug Testing Law
Employees · Health
Nebraska does not require workplace drug testing, but employers that test must confirm positive screens with approved laboratory or breath-test methods before acting on them, preserve positive specimens, keep a chain of custody, and keep results confidential.
- Where
- Nebraska
- Citation
- Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1901 to 48-1910
- Status
- In force
- Enforced by
- No administrative enforcer named; tampering offenses are prosecuted criminally
- People can sue
- No
- Penalties
- Unconfirmed test results cannot be used for discipline or termination (48-1903). Tampering with or substituting body fluids is a Class I misdemeanor (48-1908, 48-1909).
- Applies to
- Employers doing business in Nebraska with six or more full- and part-time employees, including the state and political subdivisions, that choose to test employees (48-1902(8))
Practices it requires
- Do not use a positive drug or alcohol screen for discipline or termination unless it is confirmed by an approved method (such as GC-MS) at a CLIA-certified lab or by a certified breath test operator.Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1903
- Refrigerate and preserve positive specimens for at least 180 days and keep a written chain of custody.Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1904; 48-1905
- Do not release or disclose test results to the public; release only as required by law, to the employee on request, or to staff who need to know.Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1906
Sources
- Official text
- Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1901 to 48-1903 (Nebraska Legislature)
- Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1902 definitions (Nebraska Legislature)
- Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1906 (Nebraska Legislature)
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: effective_date null: enacted by Laws 1988, LB 582; date not confirmed. Last amended by Laws 2010, LB861 (definitions); date not confirmed.
Research reference, not legal advice.