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Employment
Drug
Screening
A Condition of Employment
Employment
drug screening is fast becoming a condition of employment for many
organizations today.
The majority of all the Fortune
500 companies do some sort of pre employment drug screening.
The
purpose is to lessen the impact from drug abuse in the workplace,
including tardiness, absenteeism, turnover, attitude problems, theft,
decreased productivity, crime and violence.
The US
Department of Labor estimates that drug use in the workplace costs
employers $75 to $100 billion dollars annually in lost time, accidents,
health care and workers compensation costs.
Sixty-five
percent of all accidents on the job are related to drug or alcohol, and
substance abusers utilize 16 times as many health care benefits and are
six times more likely to file workers compensation claims then
non-abusers.
Most HR and safety professionals have
found drug testing to be a valuable and cost-effective risk management
tool.
The most common type of drug testing program
is the pre-employment drug screening. And courts have consistently
upheld the legality of requiring a pre-employment drug test as a
condition of employment.
If a firm plans to conduct
post-hiring testing for current employees, then the employer should
include training and education for supervisors and employees, as well
as guidelines for discipline in the event of a positive test.
Post
employment testing includes random testing (for safety sensitive
positions), individualized suspicion testing, post accident testing,
and testing that is legally required in certain industries, such as
Department of Transportation (DOT).
How is the
testing conducted?
- Most drug testing is done by sending an
applicant to a collection site, where a urine sample is obtained and
sent to a certified laboratory for analysis.
- Negative
results are normally available within 24 hours.
What is
tested?
Most
employers utilize a standard five-panel
test of "street drugs," consisting of:
- Marijuana
(THC)
- Cocaine
- PCP
- Opiates
(such as codeine and morphine)
- Amphetamines
(including methamphetamine)
Some employers use a ten-panel
test,
which in addition to the above mentioned, may include:
- Prescription
drugs
- Barbiturates
- Methaqualone
- Benzodiazepines (Tranquilizers-Diazepam,
Valium,
Librium, Ativan, Xanax, Clonopin, Serax, Halcyon, Rohypnol)
- Methadone
- Propoxyphene (Darvon compounds)
Employers
can also test for alcohol.
What happens
if there is a
positive test or abnormal test?
- Testing
labs have extensive procedures to re-confirm a positive test before
reporting it.
- Most drug testing programs also
utilize the services of an independent physician called a Medical
Review Officer (MRO) to review all test results.
- If
a current employee tests positive, then the employer must follow the
policies and procedures they have put into place.
- Some
employers will utilize an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which can
arrange for professional assessment and treatment recommendations.
- All
drug-testing results should be maintained on a confidential basis
separate from an employees’ personnel file.
Cost/Benefit
- Pre
employment drug screening programs can be set up with a minimal amount
of effort.
- Organizations that operate from a single
location can usually turn to a local medical clinic for tests.
Companies
with multiple work locations, may set up programs through drug testing
agencies to allow testing at locations convenient to the job applicant.
In
addition to the Employment
Drug Screening info here, don't
forget to check out the other various Employment
Background Screening
sections, such as: Medical
Background Check,
Education
Background Check, Criminal
Background Check, Polygraph
Test
and Employment
Credit Check.
Also, you may want to check out some additional information if
you are considering
the Federal
Government jobs
arena.
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