House Bill 4705

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4705

        By the Committee on Financial Services and Representatives
    Safley, Lippman, Effman, Rayson, Flanagan, Dennis, Lawson and
    Bainter




  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to drug-free workplace program

  3         requirements; amending s. 440.09, F.S.;

  4         providing a standard for rebutting a

  5         presumption that an employee's injury was

  6         caused by intoxication or the influence of

  7         drugs; providing an effective date.

  8

  9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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11         Section 1.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section

12  440.09, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

13         440.09  Coverage.--

14         (7)

15         (b)  If the employee has, at the time of the injury, a

16  blood alcohol level equal to or greater than the level

17  specified in s. 316.193, or if the employee has a positive

18  confirmation of a drug as defined in this act, it is presumed

19  that the injury was occasioned primarily by the intoxication

20  of, or by the influence of the drug upon, the employee. If the

21  employer has implemented a drug-free workplace, this

22  presumption may be rebutted only by evidence that there is no

23  reasonable hypothesis supporting the possibility that the

24  intoxication or drug influence contributed to the injury. In

25  the absence of a drug-free workplace program, this presumption

26  may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence that the

27  intoxication or influence of the drug did not contribute to

28  the injury. Percent by weight of alcohol in the blood must be

29  based upon grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. If

30  the results are positive, the testing facility must maintain

31  the specimen for a minimum of 90 days. Blood serum may be used

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4705

    614-127-98






  1  for testing purposes under this chapter; however, if this test

  2  is used, the presumptions under this section do not arise

  3  unless the blood alcohol level is proved to be medically and

  4  scientifically equivalent to or greater than the comparable

  5  blood alcohol level that would have been obtained if the test

  6  were based on percent by weight of alcohol in the blood.

  7  However, if, before the accident, the employer had actual

  8  knowledge of and expressly acquiesced in the employee's

  9  presence at the workplace while under the influence of such

10  alcohol or drug, the presumptions specified in this subsection

11  do not apply.

12         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1998 and

13  shall apply to any cause of action or petition for benefits

14  filed on or after that date.

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17                          HOUSE SUMMARY

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      Provides for rebutting a presumption that an injury in a
19    drug-free workplace is occasioned by intoxication or the
      influence of drugs.
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