Drug testing programs aim to filter out drug users from your workforce as well as to deter drug use on the job.
According to data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, past-month illicit drug users said:
- They would be less likely than those reporting no current illicit drug use to work for employers that conducted pre-employment drug testing (18.2 percent vs. 3.7 percent).
- Were more likely to report working for an employer that did not test employees for drugs compared to those working for employers that did (10.8 percent vs. 7.4 percent).
- Reported they would be far less likely to work for employers that conduct random drug testing compared to those reporting no current illicit drug use (29.1 percent of past-month illicit drug users versus 6.9 percent of non-users).
Drug testing programs improve employee morale and productivity; decrease absenteeism, accidents, downtime, turnover and theft; and lead to better health among employees and family members as well as decreased use of medical benefits. Organizations with drug-free workplace programs sometimes qualify for state government incentives or workers’ compensation insurance premium discounts.
Protect your organization
Employers design drug-free workplace programs to protect their organizations from the negative impacts of drug abuse. Because every business and workforce is unique, each employer should make a careful determination of the program elements that are most feasible and beneficial for their workplace.
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The proof is in the numbers: you can’t afford not to drug testThe proof is in the numbers
You can’t afford not to drug test!
- 8.4 percent of full-time employees (10.2 million) and 10.1 percent of part-time employees (3 million) aged 18 or older reported using illicit drugs within the past month.
- Employees who use drugs are 2.5 times more likely than other non-abusing co-workers to be absent for 8 or more days.
- Drug abusers are 3.6 times more likely to be involved in an accident at work and 5 times more likely to file a workers’ compensation claim.
- 44 percent of abusers have sold drugs to other employees, and 18 percent have stolen from co-workers to support their habit.
(According 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health)
Studies suggest that substance abuse — which includes drugs and alcohol — costs the United States an estimated $276 billion a year, with much of the cost resulting from lost productivity and increased healthcare spending.
Our commitment is that we’re there when you need us with effective and reliable drug testing services. We offer a complete line of drug testing products and services that provide the critical information you need to make confident and informed decisions about prospective and current employees.
Common reasons for drug testing:
Pre-employment testing is conducted to prevent the hiring of individuals who use drugs. An individual is required to provide a specimen during the job application process, typically after a conditional offer of employment. Generally, a negative drug test result is required before an employer will make a job offer to the applicant.
Random testing is a strong deterrent to drug users because it is conducted unannounced. Using a random selection process, the employer selects one or more individuals from all of the employees included in the employer’s workplace drug testing program. Federally mandated, safety-sensitive workers — which include pilots, bus drivers and truck drivers — and workers in nuclear power plants are required to undergo random drug testing as mandated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Periodic testing is usually scheduled in advance and uniformly administered to all employees. A drawback of this method is that employees can prepare for it by ceasing their drug use in advance of the scheduled test.
Reasonable suspicion testing, sometimes referred to as “probable-cause,” is conducted when supervisors have suspicions or evidence of drug abuse in the workplace. Since this type of drug testing is discretionary, it requires stringent supervisor training to ensure consistent application of the program across the workforce.
Post-accident testing immediately following an accident can help determine whether drugs were a factor. Employers should establish objective criteria for performing post-accident testing. It is recommended that post-accident testing be done appropriately with urine or oral fluid testing within 12 hours of the incident, since substances remain in a person’s system for different amounts of time.
Return-to-duty testing involves a one-time, announced test given to an employee who has previously tested positive and is ready to return to the workplace having completed substance abuse treatment. Some employers use this type of testing for any employee who has been absent for an extended period of time.
Follow-up testing involves an employee returning to work after rehabilitation for a substance abuse problem. The employee is tested at unannounced random intervals to ensure that the individual remains drug-free.
Other types of testing used by employers include voluntary, probationary, pre-promotion, return after illness, and overall testing where all employees are tested rather than a randomly selected percentage.