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Labor and Employment Code›Division I — PROTECTION OF WORKERS IN THE CITY›Article 51 — PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYER

San Francisco County Municipal Code § 51.5 Employer Prohibited from Testing Employees

San Francisco County Municipal Code · 2026-09 edition · updated 2026-10-22 · San Francisco County

Cite as: San Francisco County Municipal Code § 51.5 · Text as of 2026-10-22

No employer may demand, require, or request employees to submit to, to take or to undergo any blood, urine, or encephalographic test in the body as a condition of continued employment. Nothing herein shall prohibit an employer from requiring a specific employee to submit to blood or urine testing if: (a) The employer has reasonable grounds to believe that an employee’s faculties are impaired on the job; and (b) The employee is in a position where such impairment presents a clear and present danger to the physical safety of the employee, another employee or to a member of the public; and (c) The employer provides the employee, at the employer’s expense, the opportunity to have the sample tested or evaluated by State licensed independent laboratory/testing facility and provides the employee with a reasonable opportunity to rebut or explain the results. In conducting those tests designed to identify the presence of chemical substances in the body, and not prohibited by this Section, the employer shall ensure to the extent feasible that the test only measures and that its records only show or make use of information regarding chemical substances in the body which are likely to affect the ability of the employee to perform safely his or her duties while on the job. Under no circumstances may employers request, require or conduct random or company-wide blood, urine or encephalographic testing. In any action brought under this Article alleging that the employer had violated this Section, the employer shall have the burden of providing that the requirements of Subsections (a), (b) and (c) as stated above have been satisfied. (Added as Police Code Sec. 3300A.5 by Ord. 527-85, App. 12/2/85; redesignated by Ord. 221-23, File No. 230835, App. 11/3/2023, Eff. 12/4/2023, Oper. 1/4/2024)

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