Drug Screening As Part Of Pre-employment Procedures

By Author: Clara Heisler
Total Articles: 20
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Statistics revealed that about 77% of drug users in the US are employed. This is quite alarming for the companies who do not include drug screening as part of their pre-employment procedures. If you have a business and you have employees working for you, one of them or a number of them might just be drug user.
Drug screening is not a requirement by law. However, you can add this to your pre-employment screening process if you think it fits. If the position you are hiring for needs special requirements, such as those handling children, the elderly or access to prescription medicines, then drug testing is essential. For jobs that require the use of heavy machinery, drug testing to new employees and those currently employed will surely benefit the company in the long run.
Drug testing adds expense to your company so better be conscious on the people you want to undergo through the process. If you have thousands of employees, having everybody tested for drugs is unnecessary and can be quite expensive. If you want, you can just do random testing so you will not be charged of discrimination if you personally pick only ...
... a handful of employees.
Drug testing as part of pre-employment process will require you to get a written consent from the applicant. Now, if you decide to drug screen your current employees, this should be stated in the handbook, or else the employees can complain. Everything should be documented since drug testing cannot be done if the person does not permit it.
There are various drug screens/ screening process you can choose from. The most basic one is the urine testing. Other than that, saliva and hair drug screening is also used nowadays. There is also a 5 panel drug screen and a 10 panel drug screen. The number pertains to the number of drugs being tested on the individual.
Drug testing is done for the protection of the customers and for the employees as well. Company problems such as stealing, damage of company property and employee discourse can be attributed to the presence of drug users. If you want to keep your company drug user free, better do something about it.