...What is Drug Testing Drug testing refers to the analysis of biological material to detect the presence or absence of drugs and metabolites within the human body. Metabolites are the substances into which drugs, including alcohol, are converted by the human body. The presence of metabolites shows that the relevant substances have been used in the recent past. The most common form of testing for illicit drugs is the analysis of urine samples. For alcohol, breath tests are more common, and these are often followed up by blood tests for confirmation. Oral fluid, hair and sweat can be used to conduct test to find the presence of drugs or alcohol. Drug Testing in the Workplace Drug testing in the workplace refers to all kinds of employee related drug testing. The basic forms of drug testing are pre employment testing, routine medicals, transfer testing, mandatory random testing, post accident testing, ‘for cause’ testing, post treatment or follow up testing, and voluntary testing. All of these methods of drug test could be utilized either independently or in a variety of combinations. Also sometimes companies may test everyone who works for the company from senior management on down. Random drug testing can also be given with or without notice to the employee. Drug testing in the United States became popular during the 1970s as an attempt to prevent the spread of drug abuse in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War....
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...growing trend in the business world today is to use drug testing to screen prospective job applicants and monitor current employees for drug usage. Drug testing at work presents us with a difficult ethical dilemma raising a question: How businesses can respect individual’s basic right to privacy and at the same time provide a safe and productive work environment. Drug testing at workplace is a serious ethical and legal issue with opponents claiming that it is directly infringing on employee’s constitutional rights to privacy. Drug testing can be viewed as a form of a search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, USCS Const. Amend. 4. This was confirmed by the Supreme Court ruling in Schmerber v. California 384 U.S. 757; 86 S. Ct. 1826; 16 L. Ed. 2d 908 (U.S. 1966) With any blood, urine or hair sample taken, people give out more than just information about illicit drugs usage. Each of those samples contains wealth of personal biological data. It is possible that employers might be fishing for evidence, for purposes other than was disclosed or suggested prior to the testing. With provided biological samples employers can illegally screen potential employees and discriminate against them based on their health problems, pregnancy or even genetic makeup (Statue 42 USCS §§ 2000ff prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of genetic information). If an individual refuses to undergo the testing examination, an applicant or an employee can be...
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...Work Place Drug Screening Opinion Paper Miquavian Tate PSY/425 January 14th, 2016 Sherrell Ellis Workplace Drug Screening Opinion Paper In today's society drugs are have become more prevalent that any other time in the past. Due to the rise in drug use, employers have begun to take more steps in testing potential candidates before they make the decision to hire them. Although these drug tests do not show potential addictions to alcohol, they take the chance of hiring someone who abuses drugs out of the picture. There are many tests available to these employers to choose. This paper will cover the type of test available, what's the kind of programs are offered to those who abuse drugs and give a general summary of both ethical and legal issues surrounding drug testing in the workplace (Hartwell, 1996). There are five types of drug tests that employers can choose. These five tests are consist of urinalysis, blood testing, hair testing, saliva, and sweat testing. The most common form of drug testing used during pre-employment is urinalysis. Urinalysis is the most popular with companies because of how little the cost is and how easy it is to administer on of these test. Although there are low costing and easy, these test can easily be tampered with by the recipients of the test by drinking large amounts of water pretest to dilute the urine to make the sample untestable. Another problem that may arise is that of a possibility of error with the test at the lab which they...
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...Case Study 2: Drug Testing Drug testing in the workplace became legal when President Reagan signed "Executive Order 12564 -- Drug-free Federal workplace". In turn, that spawned the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. Although both apply only to the workplaces of Federal employers and Federal contractors and grantees, private-sector employers immediately followed the government's lead because they legally could. However, there is much controversy over the legality of drug testing in the workplace, especially the legality of random drug testing. Many legal professionals consider it to be a personal privacy invasion and an unreasonable search and seizure, contrary to our rights granted by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Subsequently, employee drug testing lawsuits have and continue to challenge the legality of drug testing. Should Castulon Corp. establish a drug testing program? The short answer is yes. There are several factors that could change this but based upon the information I see no need for there not to be testing. There are a multitude of reasons any company including Castulon should and do implement drug testing. They do it to keep their employees and others safe. Workers on drugs present a clear and present danger to themselves, co-workers, and members of the public. Employers cannot and should not allow the safety and health of others to be jeopardized by drug abusers in the workplace. Drug users are not only more likely to injure others...
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...Drug Testing In The Workplace Drug Testing in the workplace can seem impersonal and invasive towards employees but it is a process that is done when an employer has reasonable suspicion that employees are using drugs at work coming from a variety of sources such as tips, accidents or behavioral problems, actual observation of drug use, and symptoms of drug usage. Today businesses feel that they have to be well aware that their workplace is a drug free place and that their employees are stable and productive and in doing so, employers result to drug testing. Many feel that drug testing is a good tool to use to have an ideal workplace culture and that most would feel like they have nothing to hide so why object? But not everyone feels the same, others do feel that drug testing like said before, is a violation of privacy and has no sense to be done. Even though one can feel this way that doesn’t make that employee a drug user just that most actually feel that drug testing is degrading. Drug abuse in the work place can affect performance and safety on the job and how an organization see’s it is that drug testing will help eliminate those poor factors. A clear written policy that outlines the employer’s expectations concerning drug use will allow for drug testing in a drug free workplace environment program. The program does have to include training the management on the signs and symptoms that would allow them to perceive with drug testing on employees. Also programs teach...
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...also doing what they can to prevent any loss of business as a cause. One of the examples that this paper will talk about is the issue of drug testing. Drug testing is a sensitive issue as there are many different viewpoints regarding this issue. Drug testing also known as drug screening was used increasingly in the 1990’s to test for the presence of illegal narcotics in the blood or urine of the employees. An employee abusing illegal narcotics may be impaired and thus at a greater risk of injury or illness on the job (Kesselring & Pittman, 2002). A previous company I used to work for had many issues regarding drug testing and it sometimes came back to hurt them. Drug testing has become an issue of outstanding social concern across the country and has been used by many employers (Wall, 1992). This paper will explain the issue that drug testing causes as well as some of the ethical concerns raised by the situation. This paper will also explain the laws that effect drug testing as well as recommendations to reduce liability exposure and improve the ethical climate of the situation Description of Business that presents a legal and ethical issue Drug testing was a big concern of a company I used to work for in San Diego. Sterling Security was a company that was bought out in 2004 due to some rising issues within the organization. Drug testing had become an issue because there were many times where employees were involved in auto accidents and incidents with working with law enforcement...
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...Workplace Drug Screening Opinion Paper Kimberlee MacKay PSY 425 December 2, 2012 Dr. Lisa Pleszkoch Workplace Drug Screening Opinion Paper Looking for a new job may require more than just filling out and employment application these days. Many employers require the applicant to take a pre-employment drug test and to pass it before they consider offering the person a job. Drug testing does not stop there. Employers can set forth other testing for a variety of reasons such as, random testing, reasonable cause, post-accident, and treatment follow-up, to name a few. An employer needs to be able to offer employees a safe workplace with as little risk as possible. In 1991, “The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that 68% of illicit drug users were employed” (2008, para. 2). This paper will focus on screening techniques, testing programs, and workplace prevention and education. Drug Screening Tests No test method is 100% accurate. The employer must find a reliable laboratory for testing, which meets all federal and state guidelines. Costs can vary depending on the type of testing method used. Obtaining a specimen requires a trained professional and should protect the person’s right to confidentiality and privacy. Urine Test This is also known as a urinalysis and requires the person to submit a urine specimen. “A test card can give immediate results or the specimen is sent out to a lab to undergo gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GCMS)” (About Drug Testing, n.d...
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...everything that they can to ensure that they have a stable and productive workforce. One of the most common methods for producing a stable, productive workforce in recent years has been drug testing/screening. Many believe that drug testing is a valid and useful tool available to businesses to promote a workplace culture the business prefers. Others feel that drug testing is a violation of privacy and has no place at a business. Almost everyone knows of someone that has abused drugs before, during, or after work. Not many know of how drug abuse actually affects performance and safety on the job. Determining if there is a correlation between drugs and poor performance and safety will help to validate drug testing’s presence. Ever since the technology was available, drug testing at the workplace has existed in some form or another. When Reagan became President in 1986, he began to push drug testing in the workplace, schools, and those applying for free benefits as part of the escalating war on drugs. (Butler, 2007) Since then, drug testing has proliferated to the rest of society and become almost a norm. For some businesses, it has become a major hiring tool, while for others it does not exist. For those that do use drug testing, it comes on many forms. Tests range from urine based to hair based to “Drug Recognition Experts,” (Butler, 2007) and each test has its own strengths and weaknesses. The easiest and cheapest tests to perform are urine tests. The most basic and easiest to...
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...Throughout the United States many companies require pre-employment drug screenings before hiring an individual for open positions as well as random drug screenings during employment. In fact, employers might legally have good cause to deny employment, fire or deny an individual from promotion if he or she fails a drug test. Drug testing laws vary by municipality and state and certain employers, for example, Government jobs encourage treatment and rehabilitation versus punishment. Also, not every employer has a mandatory zero-tolerance policy. This paper will examine the different types of drug tests, the reliability of the different drug testing methods, testing programs and how they may relate to specific corporate environments and who is subject to these drug tests and for what reason. Throughout this paper the legal and ethical issues of workplace testing will be examined. Drug testing in the workplace became legal when President Reagan signed "Executive Order 12564--Drug-free Federal workplace". In turn, that spawned the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. Although both apply only to the workplaces of Federal employers, and Federal contractors and grantees, private-sector employers immediately followed the government's lead, because they legally could (EmployeeIssues.com, 2003-2008). However, there is much controversy over the legality of drug testing in the workplace, especially the legality of random drug testing. Many legal professionals consider it to be a personal privacy...
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...| ClearPath Testing Inc. | Online Business Viability | | | This paper will discuss the possible online expansion of ClearPath Testing, Inc. and whether online expansion will be feasible for its’ current business model. Viability ClearPath Testing, Inc. (ClearPath) will assist employers in maintaining a drug-free workplace. Employers are constantly concerned about the productivity of their employees. Employers are starting to realize that substance abuse in the workplace affects the bottom line of the organization. ClearPath will provide employers with drug testing services either at the ClearPath site or at the employer’s location with their mobility services by use of the online scheduler accessible on the website. Additionally, ClearPath will provide drug testing supplies that employers can purchase online in order to test their employees. Along with the purchase of any drug testing product, ClearPath will provide the appropriate personnel with online training that certifies an individual in the appropriate collection of a drug test sample. ClearPath will also offer online assistance with the complete development of an Employer’s Drug-Free Workplace Program. The development of a Drug-Free Workplace Program will allow employers to take advantage of many discounts offered by health insurance and workers compensation carriers. Statistics show that “Nearly 75 percent of all adult illicit drug users are employed – substance abusing employees are more...
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...21, 2012 Drug testing continues to develop as a popular strategy to control substance abuse in the workplace; the incidence of testing is partially based on the type of worksite, characteristics of employees, and policies of the company. The concept of a Drug Free Workplace began in 1914. It was at this time that the Ford Motor Company established sobriety programs in the company's plants. The next step from here was when Ronald Reagan signed the Executive Order 12564. This banned the use of drugs both on and off duty for federal government employees. This order resulted in the Drug-free Workplace Act of 1988. It was in 1986 that the government recognized that drug use was having a serious adverse effect on the workforce and the billions of dollar that was lost in productivity each year. It was estimated that even at this time that there were billions of dollars being lost each year on due to a loss of productivity. Additionally substance abuse statistics confirm that there are greater percentages of absenteeism and negative work behaviors. The statistics indicate that substances abusers will also have a greater likelihood of injury on the job or a compensation claim, while 50% to 80% of loss due to theft is directly correlated to substance abusing employees. It was at this time that the federal government, as an employer, decided to make a step towards becoming a drug-free workplace. This executive order led to the Drug-Free Workplace Act, which defined a "drug-free workplace"...
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...1. How does drug testing effect hiring and testing employees A. Though many feel that drug testing is an invasion of privacy, drug testing enhances the probably to having a successful business. B. The strategy is to obtain the best employees to come in and assure that your company will have a successful production and outcome rate. C. There are different regulations and laws set to insure proper and relevant drug testing that assure the best environment for the workplace (employer and employees) D. In today’s workplace, drug testing has become a debatable matter. Every employer, regardless of industry or profession, must decide on way to position themselves and their business. There are many people that feel drug testing in the workplace is an attack of privacy. On the other side, however, there are those who believe that in today's workplace drug testing may be common but is vibrant to a successful business. 2. The Body of my research A. How do regulated laws play a part in the effect of drug testing? B. How lab testing affect the outcome for the employer and the employee. C. Pros a. Confining to federal and state regulations. b. Weeding out people that will be a liability to the employer, co-workers, and themselves. c. Preventing low productivity from that use drugs as compared to those that don’t. d. Preventing a high rating of work injuries. D. Cons e. Resistance from employers. Violates their privacy...
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...Drugs in the Workplace Mark Gomez MGT 331 December 7, 2015 Abstract Defining the “drug problem” in the workplace is a task riddled with ambiguity because employers aren’t completely sure how to implement the most suitable policy for their organization. This should be an employer’s concern because drug misuse is a serious problem that can affect the business where the user works and sometimes their co-workers. Successfully tackling the drug issue correctly can benefit the employer by reducing absenteeism, reducing accidents related to drug use and promoting a more productive environment. The focus of this paper is to review current workplace policies on drug use and the challenges it brings employers. Drugs in the Workplace When it comes to drugs, employers have a legal responsibility to look after employees’ wellbeing, health and safety. Employers have a general duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 (HSW Act) to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees (Drug Misuse at Work A Guide for Employers, 2005). A good employer will want to help employees. In some cases, alcohol or drug misuse may be used to help cope with work-related stress. If there is a problem with alcohol or drug misuse in your workplace, then this may be part of a wider stress problem. A good starting point is to focus on the scope of the situation. Prescriptive drug use in the Unites States of America accounts for roughly 48...
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...Impact of Drug-Testing Programs in the Workplace Paul DiLorenzo Marquette University Americans are concerned about drugs, and employers are no exception. They have been told that drug use in the workforce is common and that workers who use drugs will harm their businesses through increased accidents and absenteeism, or through more subtle, but serious effects of decreased efficiency and productivity. It is certainly true that the abuse of drugs, both licit and illicit, is a problem in America today. A company of any size is, over time, likely to encounter employees or applicants with drug problems. How to respond to this problem however, is anything but clear. Most employers are not experts on drug use or abuse and in the absence of personal knowledge, may turn to others for information they need to make decisions. However, much of the information thus far that has been made available to employers is not helpful and one-sided, with the majority of the information coming from the drug testing industry. This misinformation has lead to the majority of major companies now requiring drug analysis as a condition for hire. Most employers now utilize a urinalysis, hair sample or oral swab as detection for substance abuse. The Drug Free Workplace Act was passed in 1988 with the intentions on providing a safe and healthy workplace for all employees. The Federal Registers (1988, 2000) report release...
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...Drug Testing in the Workplace The Effect of Drug Testing in the Workplace Rahsha Simpson Ashworth College Labor Relations March 5, 2014 Drug Testing in the workplace Page 2 President Ronald Reagan launched the federal government “drug free” workplace campaign, in the 1980’s. This was to create awareness of the long term, damaging effects of drugs on our nation. In an effort to create a “clean” work environment, this campaign has been the target of significant positive and negative press for decades. Testing in the hiring process impacts employees for a myriad of reasons. The most noted is how one’s rights of privacy can feel invaded, with having to agree to this stipulation, prior to formally accepting a job offer. Even upon successfully passing the drug testing, and employee may still be subject to random testing from the Human Resources department, as a condition of maintaining their employment status. The terminology for drug testing can differ greatly from one employer to the next. However, there are some across the board accepted practices. In spite of the formal disclosure, employers must maintain adherence to the Human Rights Act of 1985. Attempts by employers to force employees to take drug tests, could potentially be challenged as a violation of privacy under this act. First, the employer has a duty to provide a safe working environment, which include...
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