Employment drug screening has become a requirement for many companies. The majority of all Fortune 500 companies do employee drug testing. The US Department of Labor has estimated that drug use in the workplace costs employers up to $100 billion dollars annually in lost work time, accidents, health care costs and workers compensation costs.
Employment drug screening helps the employer to develop a healthier and more productive workforce and improve profits. Employers are encouraged, through the drug-free workplace program, to monitor drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace.
Legally employers have established that it is within their rights to ensure the workplace is free from hazards and one of the best ways to protect your workplace is to aggressively screen out drug abusers before they become employees. An employer can establish a program for testing job applicants for drug usage as long as it is administered fairly and consistently and is in line with federal and state laws.
The laws concerning employment drug screening vary from state to state. Some states require that employers may only test applicants once they have been formally offered a position conditional on a negative drug test. Other states do not have this requirement. Go to Department of Labor State Laws to find out the laws that apply to employment drug testing in your state.
Generally these requirements for pre employment drug screening are followed by employers:
Employers have a written drug testing policy that requires job applicants to be drug-freeWritten notice of testing is given before the applicant may be tested. Many drug and alcohol testing laws require that job applicants be notified in advance that they may be tested and under what conditions
Written notice is given to the applicant that employment drug screening is required before hiring. This may be done through the employment application form or on a specific form given out at the first interview
The written notice details the type of drug testing that will be carried out and lists the over-the-counter medications that may produce a positive result
In accordance with certain state laws the applicant may need to be given a conditional job offer letter that indicates that the offer is conditional on completion of a drug test with a negative result
The same testing program should be implemented for all applicants in a particular category or there could be implications of discrimination
It is worth noting that a company with over 15 employees is subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination. This Act prohibits pre employment medical examinations before a conditional offer of employment has been made but a test to determine if an applicant is illegally using drugs is specifically exempted from the definition of what constitutes a medical examination. However pre employment alcohol testing is considered an medical examination and can only be conducted after the candidate has been extended a conditional offer of employment.
How is pre employment drug testing conducted?
Generally applicants are sent to a collection site where a urine sample is obtained and then sent to a certified laboratory for analysis. Urine drug testing is the most common type of drug screening primarily because it is reliable, inexpensive and non- intrusive. Test results are usually available within 24 to 48 hours. Other testing methods such as hair testing, blood tests, breath tests and saliva testing are also used.
Some employers use instant test kits similar to a home pregnancy test. These tests are considered accurate for immediate screening but are not effective in the event of a positive result because that requires laboratory confirmation and keeping of the sample for retesting.
What is tested?
The most common employment drug screening is a standard five-panel test, called a "Five-Screen", of street drugs including marijuana, cocaine, PCP (Phencylidine), opiates such as heroin, morphine and codeine, and amphetamines.
A "Ten-Screen" test is sometimes used which expands to include these five prescription drugs that are legal to possess and use- barbituates (phenobarbital etc), mathaqualone (Qualuudes), benzodiazepines (tranquilizers such as Valium, Librium, Xanax) and Methadone.
Although it varies from person to person most drugs stay in the system for 2-4 days, however hair testing and some other more expensive drug tests can detect drug usage for up to 90 days. Chronic drug usage can be detected for up to 14 days or more while sedatives may stay in the system for up to 30 days. Usually the employer will insist that the urine sample is given within a specific time period so that drug users do not wait until the drugs have left the system.
What happens if the result is not negative?
If a test is positive most labs will carry out extensive procedures to confirm the result before they report it. Most drug testing programs use an independent physician to review all test results. If the result is positive the physician will usually contact the applicant to find out if there is a medical explanation for the result. If the positive test is confirmed the candidate should have the right to pay for retesting of their sample by another laboratory of their choice and urine samples of all positive tests are kept for that reason. However the chances of a false positive are virtually nil.
There can also be a test result that is "negative" but shows an abnormal result that indicates an attempt by the candidate to alter the results such as drinking excessive water to dilute the sample. These results are examined further and another sample may be required.
All drug testing results should be kept on a confidential basis.
Go to Pre Employment Testing to find out about other pre employment tests that are commonly used as part of the hiring process.
DISCLAIMER:The information provided here is for guidance purposes only and is not legal advice.Return from Employment Drug Screening to Best Job Interview
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