Employee Drug Testing
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Employee drug testing is a major part of a drug-free work
environment. In addition, employee drug testing can save a
company thousands of dollars in sick days, worker's compensation
claims and unemployment benefits. Post-hire employee drug
testing is a good start for insuring a drug-free workplace.
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Employers need not stop there, though. Because 77-percent of all
drug abusers are employed, and 65-percent of all workplace accidents
are related to drug abuse, it makes sense for companies to perform
drug testing on current employees as well.
Pre-employment drug testing can only be performed in most states
once a conditional offer for employment has been made.
In order to conduct pre-employment drug testing, the potential
employer needs to:
1. Inform the potential employee during the job interview
of the company's requirement
2. Have the candidate sign and date a permission form for
the drug testing
3. Print the employee drug testing requirement in the employee
handbook and in other documents that appear in high-traffic
areas in the workplace
Informing employees upfront about the required pre-employment
and current employment drug testing policy will save companies
many headaches later and will ensure that everyone is on the
same page right from the get-go about the policy.
For those concerned about employee drug testing versus invasion
of privacy issues there are several items that need to be
considered. For many of the drug tests, direct or indirect
observation can be seen as degrading by those being tested
(this is why hair follicle testing is now becoming popular).
If urine screening is being conducted, the existence of many
other physical and medical conditions, including genetic predisposition
to disease - or pregnancy can be seen as an over-reaching
type of invasion of privacy, specifically being tested for
areas that are not related to drug or alcohol abuse. The ratio
of false positive results for labs that have a hard time distinguishing
between legal and illegal substances for many is unacceptable
and can lead to defamation of character charges.
Some people feel that employee drug testing is invasive since
it mostly punishes what employees do in their off-time in
the privacy of their own homes. Many employees, though agree
that employee drug testing does make sense for safety-sensitive
occupations like airline pilots, air traffic controllers,
school bus drivers, truck drivers, train engineers and others.
According to the ACLU, "Computer-assisted performance
tests, which measure hand-eye coordination and response time,
are a better way of detecting whether employees are up to
the job. NASA, for example, has long used task-performance
tests to determine whether astronauts and pilots are unfit
for work - whether the cause is substance abuse, fatigue,
or physical illness."
The ACLU goes onto say that Employee Assistance Programs
(EAP's) are the way for employers to go instead of drug testing.
EAP counselors help employees cope with health, finance, emotional
or substance abuse problems that can affect job performance
and are designed to rehabilitate the employee instead of punish
them.
With 50 million drug tests given to potential employees last
year, the screening for substance abuse problems is not going
away any time soon. Hopefully, employers can come up with
drug-free workplace programs that are meant to screen out
potential problems upfront, rehabilitate the current workers
who need help and do so in a non-invasive manner that protects
the worker, the company and the community at large.
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