Private Sector Drug-Free Workplaces (employee drug and alcohol testing)

Iowa Workplace Drug Testing Law

Employees · Health

Iowa permits private employers to drug and alcohol test employees and applicants only under a written policy and strict procedures. The law protects privacy during sample collection, keeps test communications confidential, gives tested workers access to their records and a right to a confirmatory retest, and lets aggrieved workers sue.

Where: Iowa
Citation: Iowa Code 730.5
Status: In force
Last amended: 2025-07-01
Enforced by: Aggrieved employees and applicants (civil action); county attorneys and the Attorney General (injunctions; Attorney General civil penalties for certain provisions)
People can sue: Yes
Penalties: Employers are liable for reinstatement or hiring, back pay, equitable relief, attorney fees and costs; injunctions available (730.5(15)). Laboratories or medical review officers that disclose information in violation of 730.5(7)(i) or (l), and employers that improperly target or exempt employees in random testing selection, face a $1,000 civil penalty per violation enforced by the Attorney General (730.5(14)(a)).
Applies to: Private sector employers that conduct drug or alcohol testing of employees or prospective employees in Iowa, and the laboratories and medical review officers they use (730.5)

What a privacy notice must say

Test only under a written policy provided to every employee subject to testing and available for review by employees and applicants.Iowa Code 730.5(9)(a) · Only if: Employer conducts testing
Notify an employee of a confirmed positive result in writing by certified mail, including the right to a confirmatory test of the second sample at a lab of the employee's choice and the fee, which must match the employer's cost.Iowa Code 730.5(7)(j)(1) · Only if: Confirmed positive result for a current employee · From 2025-07-01

Rights it gives people

Employees (and applicants who ask within 15 days) with a confirmed positive result may obtain on written request all records of their test, including laboratory and medical review officer records.Iowa Code 730.5(13)(b) · Only if: Confirmed positive result

Practices it requires

Collect samples under sanitary conditions and with regard for the individual's privacy, including a private collection location.Iowa Code 730.5(7)(a) · Only if: Employer conducts testing
Treat all communications about test results as confidential; they may not be disclosed or used in proceedings except as the section allows.Iowa Code 730.5(13)(a)

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.

Unverified: Original effective date not confirmed (the section's history begins with 1987 Acts ch. 208; the current private-sector framework dates to 1998).

Research reference, not legal advice.