diff --git a/src/org/labkey/test/TestProperties.java b/src/org/labkey/test/TestProperties.java
index 0fee4021f5..a8f2e33346 100644
--- a/src/org/labkey/test/TestProperties.java
+++ b/src/org/labkey/test/TestProperties.java
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ public static boolean isTrialServer()
 
     public static boolean isEmbeddedTomcat()
     {
-        return System.getProperties().containsKey("useEmbeddedTomcat") || new File(TestFileUtils.getDefaultDeployDir(), "embedded").isDirectory();
+        return !System.getProperty("useEmbeddedTomcat", "false").equals("false") || new File(TestFileUtils.getDefaultDeployDir(), "embedded").isDirectory();
     }
 
     public static boolean isCheckerFatal()