The State of California Labor Commissioner’s Office supplied the following information:
Labor Code
Section 225.5 covers the respective obligations of the employer and the
employees regarding payment for medical examinations and/or other government
mandated examinations necessary to obtain or retain employment.
Section
225.5 is divided into two parts:
The first
part provides: "No person shall withhold or deduct from the compensation
of any employee, or require any prospective employee or applicant for employment to pay any fee
for, or cost of, any pre-employment medical
or physical examination taken as a condition of employment..."
This part
of the statute prohibits an employer from charging an employee or applicant for
employment the costs of any pre-employment examination, which is required as a
condition of employment.
The second
part of Section 225.5 provides: "nor shall any person withhold or deduct
from the compensation of any employee, or
require any employee to pay any fee
for, or costs of, medical or physical examinations required by any law or
regulation of federal, state or local governments or agencies thereof."
Accordingly,
an employer may require that an applicant or prospective employee
pay the costs of any pre-employment medical or physical examination required by
law.
Section
231: provides: "Any employer who requires, as a condition of employment,
that an employee has a driver's license, shall pay the cost of any physical
examination of the employee which may be required for the issuance of such
license, except where the physical examination was taken prior to the
time the employee applied for such employment with the employer."