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North Dakota drug testing laws for employers

North Dakota has no general workplace drug testing law for private employers. Its medical marijuana law lets employers discipline workers for using at work, working impaired, or working with marijuana in their system. The state workers' comp fund (WSI) gives a premium discount for an approved drug-free workplace program.

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The state law

• We found no North Dakota law that sets general rules for private employers who drug test (no statute found).
• WSI's Safety Action Menu gives a 5% premium discount per completed program, and programs can be combined for up to 10% (WSI Safety Action Menu 2027).
• You apply through myWSI at least 30 days before your policy period starts, finish program requirements by the end of month 11, and pass WSI's annual audit (WSI Safety Action Menu 2027).
• The Drug-Free Workplace Program requires a written policy and reasonable suspicion testing for all employees, and WSI encourages at least one more test type (pre-employment, random, or post-accident) (WSI Drug-Free Workplace Program 2027).
• Employees and supervisors need documented training every year, and first-time employers must take WSI's online course within 90 days (WSI Drug-Free Workplace Program 2027).
• You must at least tell employees where to get help for substance abuse, with names, addresses, and phone numbers of providers (WSI Drug-Free Workplace Program 2027).

Testing applicants

• We found no North Dakota law that limits applicant testing by private employers (no statute found).

Random testing

• We found no state law that limits random testing by private employers (no statute found).

Marijuana (medical only)

• The medical marijuana law does not stop you from disciplining an employee for having or using marijuana at work, working under the influence, or working with marijuana in their system (N.D.C.C. 19-24.1-34).
• We found no North Dakota law that bars testing medical marijuana patients or protects their off-duty use from a positive test (N.D.C.C. 19-24.1-34).
• North Dakota bans job discrimination for lawful off-duty activity that does not directly conflict with the employer's essential business interests, and we found no law or case applying this to marijuana (N.D.C.C. 14-02.4-03).
• Adult-use (recreational) marijuana is not legal in North Dakota (N.D.C.C. 19-24.1-34).

Also good to know

• A worker loses workers' comp for an injury caused by alcohol, recreational marijuana, or illegal drug use (N.D.C.C. 65-01-02).
• A positive test above federal DOT cutoff levels creates a presumption that impairment caused the injury, and refusing a post-accident test required by company policy forfeits benefits for that injury (N.D.C.C. 65-01-11).

Common questions

Some rules for North Dakota weren't confirmed from an official source. Check with the state before relying on this page.

Sources

• WSI Safety Action Menu 2027 (official)
• WSI Drug-Free Workplace Program 2027 (official)
• N.D.C.C. ch. 19-24.1 incl. 19-24.1-34 (official)
• N.D.C.C. ch. 14-02.4 incl. 14-02.4-03 (official)
• N.D.C.C. ch. 65-01 incl. 65-01-02 and 65-01-11 (official)

This page summarizes state law in plain words, with links to the law itself. It is not legal advice, and laws change: check the linked source, and talk to a lawyer about your own policy. Federal DOT testing rules are separate and override state limits for DOT-covered jobs. Checked October 2026.

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