Arkansas drug testing laws for employers: pre-employment testing rules (2026)

Arkansas has no statute that sets testing procedures for every private employer. Its main drug testing law is a voluntary drug-free workplace program created by Act 1552 of 1999 and run by the Workers' Compensation Commission under Rule 099.36: an employer that joins must test job applicants after a conditional offer, follow federal Department of Transportation collection and cutoff standards, and give applicants five working days to explain a positive to a medical review officer, in return for a 5% workers' compensation premium credit. Separately, Amendment 98 bars hiring discrimination based on someone's status as a medical marijuana patient, with exceptions for safety-sensitive positions, as of October 2026.

Does Arkansas have a drug testing law for private employers?

Arkansas's statute is an incentive, not a mandate. Act 1552 of 1999, "An act to establish a voluntary program for drug free workplaces," is codified in Title 11, Chapter 14 of the Arkansas Code. The details are in the Workers' Compensation Commission's Rule 099.36, which says nothing in it requires an employer to test or creates a legal obligation to ask an applicant to take a test (section II.C). An employer that follows the rule and is accepted each year by the Commission's Health and Safety Division gets:

• A premium credit. The Commission's program page says a qualifying program earns a "5% credit on their workers' compensation insurance premium." The rule sets the credit at "at least five percent" unless the Insurance Commissioner finds that actuarially unsound (section XV).
• "For cause" decisions. Refusing to hire an applicant in compliance with the rule is treated as a refusal for cause (section X.B).
• No disability presumption. A confirmed positive does not by itself make someone handicapped or disabled under discrimination laws (section X.A).

Employers apply each year on Form HS-36-A and give the Commission's acceptance to their insurer before the credit is applied (section XIII).

What does a Rule 36 program require for job applicants?

The rule defines a job applicant as someone who has applied and "has been offered employment conditioned upon successfully passing a drug or alcohol test," and who may have started work pending the result (section III.R). A participating employer must follow these steps:

1. One-time written policy statement. Before testing, every employee and job applicant receives a statement covering the policy, the types of tests, actions on a confirmed positive, the existence of the rule, employee protections, confidentiality, the consequences of refusing, employee assistance and rehabilitation contacts, and the classes of drugs tested (section IV.A). The Division offers a model notice and policy.
2. Notice in job ads. Vacancy announcements for positions that require testing must say so, a notice of the policy must be posted on the premises, and copies must be available for applicants to inspect (section IV.C).
3. Sixty days before a new program. At least 60 days must pass between a general notice to employees and the program's start (section IV.B).
4. Post-offer test. After a conditional offer, the employer "must require job applicants to submit to a drug test" and may refuse to hire on a refusal or a positive, confirmed, verified result. Limited testing on a reasonable classification basis is allowed, and alcohol testing of applicants is optional (section V.D.1).
5. DOT panel and procedures. The panel is amphetamines, marijuana (cannabinoids), cocaine, opiates, PCP and alcohol, using DOT cutoffs, with split-sample collection, chain of custody and reporting under 49 CFR Part 40 (section VII.A to C).
6. Qualified laboratory. Initial tests go to a lab licensed by the Arkansas Department of Health or certified by HHS or the College of American Pathologists; confirmation tests only to a SAMHSA- or CAP-certified lab (section VII.F, G).
7. Medical review officer. An applicant with a positive confirmed result may contest or explain it to the medical review officer within five working days after written notice (section IX.B), and the employer may not refuse to hire on a result that has not been confirmed and verified by the MRO (section IX.D).

The employer pays for the tests it requires; an applicant pays for any additional tests the employer does not require (section VIII). Supervisors need at least 60 minutes of training on alcohol misuse and 60 on drug use (section XI.B).

What does Arkansas say about medical marijuana and hiring?

Medical marijuana in Arkansas rests on Amendment 98 to the state constitution, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016; the Medical Marijuana Commission licenses its dispensaries and cultivation facilities. The employment rules were rewritten by Act 593 of 2017, approved March 23, 2017. Section 3(f)(3) now says:

• No status discrimination. An employer may not discriminate against an applicant or employee in hiring, termination or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalize them, based on past or present status as a qualifying patient or designated caregiver.
• Protected employer actions. No cause of action arises from establishing a substance abuse or drug-free workplace policy "that may include a drug testing program that complies with state or federal law and taking action with respect to an applicant or employee under the policy"; from acting on a good-faith belief that a patient used or possessed marijuana, or was under the influence, on the premises or during working hours; or from excluding a patient from a safety-sensitive position based on a good-faith belief of current use. Refusing to hire is listed as a protected action.
• The positive-test limit. For a belief that someone was under the influence at work, "a positive test result for marijuana cannot provide the sole basis." For safety-sensitive positions, current use "is presumed when a positive test result for marijuana occurs" (section 2(20)).

The amendment's employment definitions matter for hiring:

• Employer: an entity with nine or more employees in Arkansas in 20 or more calendar weeks of the current or preceding year (section 2(22)). Independent contractors and people employed outside Arkansas are not employees (section 2(21)).
• Safety-sensitive position: any position with a safety-sensitive function under DOT or other federal or state agency testing rules, or any position the employer designates in writing, such as carrying a firearm, performing life-threatening procedures, handling confidential criminal investigation documents, working with hazardous or flammable materials, controlled substances, food or medicine, or a job where a lapse of attention could cause injury, illness or death, including operating heavy equipment, machinery, aircraft, watercraft or motor vehicles (section 2(25)).
• Positive test: a result at or above the DOT cutoff or the Arkansas under-the-influence level, whichever is lower (section 2(24)).
• Remedies: damages are limited to those under the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993, back pay to two years before filing, and a claim must be brought within one year (section 3(f)(3)(D), (E)).

The text leaves room for dispute when a cardholder applying for a job that is not designated safety-sensitive tests positive and shows no sign of impairment. Designate safety-sensitive positions in writing before you post them, and get counsel before refusing to hire a cardholder on a THC result alone.

Which federal rules still apply in Arkansas?

• DOT-regulated roles follow 49 CFR Part 40; a commercial driver needs a verified negative pre-employment result before the first safety-sensitive function (49 CFR 382.301). Rule 099.36 treats federally required testing as conforming for those employees (section II.A).
• Rescheduling. The April 28, 2026 order moved FDA-approved and state-medical-license marijuana to Schedule III, but DOT's Part 40 guidance (May 15, 2026) says an Arkansas registry card still cannot make a DOT positive negative.
• Federal contractors need the policy statement and awareness program in the FAR Drug-Free Workplace clause, separate from Rule 36.
• The ADA: see pre-employment medical exams under the ADA.

What should staffing agencies placing workers in Arkansas do?

• Confirm whose premium credit it is. The credit attaches to the employer's own workers' compensation policy and its own annual acceptance, so check with your carrier whether the agency's program or the client's covers each placement.
• Put the testing notice in your ads. If the assignment requires a test under a Rule 36 program, the vacancy announcement must say so.
• Get the safety-sensitive designation in writing. Amendment 98 relies on the employer's written designation. Agree with the client which positions are designated before you screen candidates for them.
• Licensing changed. Arkansas repealed its private employment agency license in 2025; see Arkansas staffing agency licensing.

For new-hire reporting, withholding and E-Verify, see hiring employees in Arkansas and Arkansas E-Verify requirements; for recorded screening calls, Arkansas's recording consent law.

Arkansas drug testing laws at a glance

A checklist before you test a candidate in Arkansas

1. Decide whether to join the Rule 36 program and tell your carrier.
2. Write the one-time policy statement and add the testing notice to job ads.
3. Designate safety-sensitive positions in writing before recruiting for them.
4. Test after a conditional offer with a qualified lab, and route positives through an MRO.
5. Give five working days to explain a positive, and do not reject a registered patient for status alone.
6. Draft from the drug testing policy template and compare other states in drug testing laws in hiring.