N.C.G.S.
14-357.1 states it shall be unlawful for any employer
with 25 or more employees to require any applicant
for employment to pay the cost of a medical examination
or the cost of providing any records required by
the employer as a condition of the initial act of
hiring. It is our position that such records
are not just medical records but for any required
records including, but not limited to, criminal
records. Any employer who violates the provisions
of this section may be liable for a fine of not
more than $100.00 for each violation. The
Commissioner of Labor is charged with enforcing
this section.
It
is also our position that the term "medical examination"
as used in N.C.G.S. 14-357.1 includes, but is not
limited to, drug screening tests. Furthermore,
it is our position that N.C.G.S. 14-357.1 would
be violated if the employer hired an employee on
the condition that the cost of the employee's medical
examination or costs to provide records would have
to be paid back at one time or over a period of
time by the employee or deducted from the employee's
first paycheck or any subsequent paycheck by the
employer. It is also our position that N.C.G.S.
14-357.1 does not apply where the medical examination
or records are required by law rather than by the
employer. An example of such a law is the
drug screening tests required for truck drivers
by the United States Department of Transportation.
