Drug-free workplace and substance awareness training

For employees, supervisors and managers: understand impairment, the laws that apply, reasonable suspicion, overdose response and the path back to work.

For: Employees, supervisors and managers in any US workplace, including safety-sensitive and federally contracted roles

  • 2 contact hours
  • 6 modules
  • 7 interactives
  • 4 job aids
  • Updated October 11, 2026

What you will be able to do

  • Describe how alcohol, cannabis, opioids, stimulants, sedatives and misused prescription drugs impair attention, judgment and reaction time, and explain why impairment is a workplace hazard.
  • Determine whether the Drug-Free Workplace Act, DOT testing rules (49 CFR Part 40) or the ADA apply to a job, and state what each requires or allows.
  • Identify how state cannabis employment laws, including California and New York protections, affect employer testing and discipline decisions.
  • Recognize and document specific signs of possible impairment and follow reasonable-suspicion steps that remove the hazard and protect privacy.
  • Respond to a suspected opioid overdose by calling 911 and using naloxone where available, and refer coworkers to confidential help.
  • Support a safe, confidential return to work and report substance-related incidents without fear of retaliation.

Learn how alcohol, cannabis, opioids, stimulants and misused prescription drugs affect the skills safe work depends on, and what federal law actually requires: the Drug-Free Workplace Act for federal contractors and grantees, DOT testing under 49 CFR Part 40 for safety-sensitive transportation jobs, and the ADA's limits and protections. You will practice spotting observable signs, documenting them and responding step by step.

Built for employees, supervisors and managers in any industry. Supervisors get a clear reasonable-suspicion process and a ready-to-use observation report; everyone learns to recognize a suspected opioid overdose, use naloxone and connect coworkers to confidential help such as the EAP and the SAMHSA National Helpline.

The course takes a safety-first, harm-reduction approach: remove the hazard, respect privacy, act on observations rather than assumptions, and make getting help easier than hiding a problem. It explains how state cannabis laws change policy, with verified California and New York rules and a method for checking any state.

What you’ll be able to do Monday morning

  1. Find your drug and alcohol policy and confirm whether your job is safety-sensitive or DOT-covered.
  2. Save your EAP number and the SAMHSA National Helpline (1-800-662-4357) in your phone.
  3. Locate the naloxone in your workplace, or raise its absence with your safety committee.
  4. Describe any impairment concern using what you saw, heard and smelled, with times.
  5. If you supervise, print the reasonable-suspicion checklist and keep it where you can reach it.
  6. Check your state's cannabis employment rules on the state agency website.

Curriculum

6 modules · 24 lessons · about 2 contact hours

01How do alcohol and drugs change the way people work?Free preview14 min
  1. Why is impairment a workplace hazard and not just a personal choice?
  2. What do the most common substances do to the body and the job?
  3. How does use turn into risk across a shift and a career?
  4. What else can look like impairment, and why does that matter?
  • Self-assessment: Fit-for-duty readiness check

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

02What do the Drug-Free Workplace Act and the ADA require and allow?14 min
  1. Who does the Drug-Free Workplace Act cover?
  2. What does the ADA protect, and what does it not protect?
  3. How do these laws fit together with your employer's policy?
  4. What does a good drug-free awareness program include?
  • Decision tree: Which drug and alcohol rules apply to this job?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

03How does DOT drug and alcohol testing work for safety-sensitive jobs?14 min
  1. Who is covered by DOT testing rules?
  2. What is tested, when, and who reviews the result?
  3. What happens after a refusal or a violation?
  4. What are your rights and responsibilities in a DOT test?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

04How do state cannabis laws change workplace drug policies?13 min
  1. Why does federal law not settle the cannabis question at work?
  2. What do California and New York require?
  3. How should you apply your own state's rules?
  4. What should a modern drug and alcohol policy say about cannabis?
  • State rules selector: State cannabis employment rules: what to check
  • Sort activity: Observation or assumption?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

05What should a supervisor do when someone may be impaired?15 min
  1. What counts as reasonable suspicion?
  2. What are the steps, in order?
  3. How do testing, privacy and fairness fit together?
  4. How should coworkers raise a concern, and what about post-incident testing?
  • Branching scenario: Reasonable suspicion on the dock
  • Spot the issue: Spot the issues: a reasonable-suspicion report

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

06How do you respond to an overdose and support help, treatment and return to work?15 min
  1. How do you recognize and respond to a suspected opioid overdose?
  2. Where can people get help before something goes wrong?
  3. How does return to work succeed?
  4. How do you support people after an overdose or serious incident?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the issues: a drug-free workplace policy extract

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

Final assessment: 23 questions, 80% to pass, then your certificate

Try it now, no account needed

Reasonable suspicion on the dock

A branching scenario from this course. Your choices are not saved.

Free sample activity

Reasonable suspicion on the dock

You supervise the loading dock at a building-supply distributor in a state with no cannabis employment protections. It is 10:20 a.m. Your reach-truck operator, Kamau Eckhart, has just clipped a rack upright.

Inside the course

Practice activities

  • Self-assessment1
  • Decision tree1
  • Branching scenario1
  • Spot the issue2
  • Sort activity1
  • State rules selector1

Job aids you keep

  • Reasonable-Suspicion Hazard Checklist for SupervisorsChecklist
  • Impairment Incident and Observation ReportTemplate
  • Impairment Risk Review for Safety-Sensitive Tasks (JHA Worksheet)Worksheet
  • Drug-Free Workplace Training Sign-Off RecordLog

Credit and approval status

Certificate of completion

This course awards a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It has not been approved or accredited by any licensing board, state agency, OSHA, the US Department of Transportation, SHRM or IACET. It is awareness training and does not satisfy DOT supervisor reasonable-suspicion training (for example, the 60 plus 60 minutes required by 49 CFR 382.603 for FMCSA-covered supervisors) or any employer's site-specific training. Check with your employer, contracting officer or board whether this course can count toward your needs.

Pathways we are pursuing or may pursue include SHRM professional development credits and continuing education units issued by a provider accredited under the IACET standard. No approval exists today; any approval will be shown on this page only after it is granted.

Our full approvals list

State notes

Drug and alcohol rules vary by state in three main ways: (1) whether off-duty cannabis use is protected, (2) whether and when employers may test, especially for cannabis, and (3) whether registered medical cannabis patients have specific protections. City ordinances can add rules.

Verified examples

  • California, Gov. Code section 12954 (effective 01/01/2024): no discrimination for off-duty, off-site cannabis use or for tests showing only nonpsychoactive metabolites; exceptions include building and construction trades and federally mandated testing (California Civil Rights Department FAQ).
  • New York, Labor Law section 201-d: protects lawful adult off-duty use; employers may act on specific articulable symptoms of impairment; smell alone is not a symptom; cannabis testing generally barred absent an exception (NY Office of Cannabis Management).

Everywhere: DOT-covered jobs follow federal testing rules regardless of state law, and employers may prohibit use, possession and impairment at work. What you must check locally: your state labor or civil rights agency for off-duty, testing and medical patient rules; city ordinances; and whether your job falls within a listed exception. OSHA State Plans do not change drug testing law but may have their own workplace safety rules.

Questions about this course

Is this course approved for continuing education, or does it meet a legal training requirement?

No approval exists today. You receive a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. The course is general awareness training. It does not satisfy DOT supervisor training under 49 CFR 382.603 or other agency rules, and it is not OSHA Outreach training. Check with your employer, board or contracting officer whether it fits your needs.

Who should take this course?

Employees, supervisors and managers in any industry who want to understand how alcohol and drugs affect safety, what federal law requires and protects, how state cannabis laws change policy, how to respond to suspected impairment or overdose, and where to find confidential help.

Does it cover my state's marijuana law?

It explains the main types of state protections and includes verified details for California and New York, plus a step-by-step method for checking any other state. State laws change often, so confirm current rules with your state labor or civil rights agency before acting.

Will this teach me how to give naloxone or CPR?

It teaches you to recognize a suspected opioid overdose and follow CDC's basic steps: call 911, give naloxone if available following the package directions, place the person on their side and stay. It does not provide hands-on CPR or rescue breathing training.

How long does it take, and do I get a certificate?

Plan on about 2 hours, including six short modules, interactive practice, knowledge checks and a final assessment. Pass the 23-question final assessment with 80% or higher to download your certificate of completion.

Is what I enter in the self-check or practice tools shared with my employer?

The self-assessment and practice activities are for your learning. Your employer receives completion and assessment results only if they purchased the course for you and use our reporting tools.

This course is general education and training awareness from CE Courses Hub. It is not legal, medical or professional advice and does not replace your employer's policies, your licensing board's rules, or advice from a qualified professional. Completing it earns a certificate of completion for the stated contact hours; it is not approved or accredited by any licensing board, state agency or accreditor unless an approval is shown on the course page. Check with your board, employer or state agency whether this course meets your specific requirement.