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Maritime Transport Act 1994

Drug and alcohol testing by Director

40ZB: What happens if worker refuses consent or test result is not negative

You could also call this:

"What happens if a worker says no to a drug test or doesn't pass it"

If you are a safety-sensitive worker, you can refuse to take a drug and alcohol test ordered by the Director. If you refuse the test or the test result is not negative, the Director will tell your employer about it as soon as possible. The Director will notify your employer so they know what is happening.

If the Director tells your employer that you refused the test or did not get a negative result, your employer must stop you from doing safety-sensitive work. Your employer will not let you do this work until they think you can do it safely. This rule applies even if your employer has their own way of testing workers for drugs and alcohol.

Your employer's own testing scheme will still work as it normally does, but they must also follow this rule about stopping you from doing safety-sensitive work. You can find more information about the law that created this rule in the Maritime Transport Amendment Act 2017. This law was changed to include this rule on 16 December 2017.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7525624.

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40ZA: Worker may request second Director test, or

"You can ask for a second drug or alcohol test if you don't agree with the first one"

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40ZC: Use of test results in criminal proceedings, or

"When can drug or alcohol test results be used in a criminal court case?"

Part 4BDrug and alcohol testing by Director

40ZBWhat happens if worker refuses consent or test result is not negative

  1. A safety-sensitive worker who has been selected for Director testing may refuse to consent to the testing.

  2. If a worker refuses to consent to Director testing or is tested and returns a result other than a negative result, the Director must notify the operator for whom the worker carries out work of that fact as soon as practicable.

  3. If the Director notifies the operator under subsection (2), the operator must prohibit the worker from performing safety-sensitive activities until the operator reasonably believes that the worker is able to safely perform those activities.

  4. Subsection (3)—

  5. applies regardless of any scheme for carrying out drug and alcohol testing of safety-sensitive workers in the operator’s safety system; but
    1. does not in any other way limit the operation of that scheme.

      Notes
      • Section 40ZB: inserted, on , by section 5 of the Maritime Transport Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 48).