Employers entrust their workers with a vast array of responsibilities in their businesses. Many employers feel it is necessary for prospective employees to submit to a pre-employment drug screening. This is especially true in industries that require the use of heavy machinery such as forklift drivers, assembly workers and even drivers.
In the United States, we are fortunate to have strict guidelines for workplace safety. Employers are bound by law to provide a safe working environment for their employees, to minimize the risks of accidents or injuries. This is one of the most common reasons for drug testing in the workplace. Employers understand that drug abuse may alter reasoning and logical abilities, thereby causing unnecessary and preventable workplace accidents.
Drug Testing in the Workplace
Drug testing in the workplace became very popular in the 1980’s. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed an executive order to ban the use of drugs among Federal employees. The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 made it mandatory that Federal employees abstain from drug use whether on or off duty. The signing of this order helped to create other similar legislation in nearly every state. Many of the nation’s largest corporations decided this was good practice for all employers and since that time, many employers have drug testing as a condition of employment.
Many opponents of workplace drug testing argue that this is not necessarily good practice. While most opponents recognize employer concerns regarding drug use among employees, they argue that it is a violation of their privacy to require drug testing. This is especially true among those who will not occupy positions that utilize dangerous equipment, such as office workers. Most likely, this is a debate that will not end in the near future. Employers take advantage of their rights to test employees for drugs, while opponents will continue to argue against possible privacy right violations.
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A Brief History of Drug Testing
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Drug testing is a big business. With at least fifteen large U.S. corporations supplying laboratory testing, employees and others are only a few minutes’ drive from a testing facility. From employers who use drug testing as a pre-employment screening tool to parents who want to...
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Why Companies Perform Random Drug Testing
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Perhaps the most controversial of all drug screenings is the random drug test. Employers have the legal authority to request a random drug test, whether they have a reasonable suspicion or not. Many companies have implemented a policy of completely random drug testing. This practice...
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The Need for Pre-Employment Drug Testing
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Employers have many reasons for requiring pre-employment drug testing. One of the most obvious reasons is that of safety. Those handling dangerous equipment or those who drive commercial vehicles have a greater chance of accidents or inflicting injury upon themselves or others if they are...
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Home Drug Testing: An Overview
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The past 20 years or so have seen a large increase in drug testing in the workplace and elsewhere. This testing has usually taken place in a laboratory setting; home drug testing is a relatively new phenomenon. With increased demand for pre-employment and random drug...
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A Look at Hair Drug Testing
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Drug testing has become very common in both the workplace and schools within the last twenty years or so. Generally, urine testing is the most common form of drug screening. Many people are creative in their efforts to beat drug tests and have formulated many...
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The Rise of High School Drug Testing
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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School districts, much like employers, have begun to implement drug-testing policies. Many school officials cite statistics relating to school performance and safety among drug users. Whether the drug testing acts as a method of screening students or as a method of deterrence from drug use,...
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Types of Drug Testing Kits
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Employers have been administering drug tests with increasing frequency in the last 20 years or so, for a number of reasons. These include safety, trustworthiness with sensitive information, and health/ insurance costs. Some privacy advocates have protested these policies, especially when they occur randomly rather...
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Urine Drug Testing: An Overview
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The oldest and most commonly used method of drug testing is the urine drug test. Urine drug testing is usually the most inexpensive and quickest method of screening for drug use. Some benefits of urine drug testing are that the tests are minimally invasive and...
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Employment Drug Screening
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Drug testing can be one of the most effecting risk management strategies appointed during pre-employment screening to avoid trouble in the future. Drug abuse can make a person confused with continuous mood swings, low job productivity, an increased chance of violence, and can even push...
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The Importance of Personal Background Checks
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The purpose of personal background checks is to get a feel for the applicant’s character. Personal and professional references are a good starting point, however, experts in the investigative field caution employers on using this method solely. Prospective employees are obviously going to give references...