The patch works with a wireless monitor that is placed over four small holes made in the employee's skin by a handheld laser. Small samples of interstitial fluids, which surround the body's cells, are continuously tested, with the results transmitted to a receiver.

SpectRx plans to begin human clinical studies in the first half of 2004. If the results are promising, the device could be on the market in three years.

"Employees are going to hate it. They will feel it's none of your business. If employers think about it carefully, they may find it would be more prudent for them not to pursue this," said Michael Zimmer, professor at Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey.

Captain James Shilling, a pilot for a major cargo airline and spokesman for the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations, also voiced concern about the test.

"Anything that is this invasive will cause a lot of push back. Nobody wants to be monitored quite that closely," he said.

But Bill Wells, media spokesman for SpectRx, said the current methods of randomly checking blood or urine samples are limited.

"The current ones are point-in-time tests -- the state of affairs only at the time the test is taken," said Wells. "Ours would allow for continuous monitoring, it can determine how much alcohol there is in the body, and it can do this in real time."

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