Private businesses and companies in the United States have for some time now been conducting in-house drug tests on their employees. The rules and regulations around these types of tests vary from state to state and depend on the local laws. For example, regulations in South Carolina can vary drastically from a drug test central Oregon. A common misconception about these types of tests on employees is that the owners of the said businesses and companies do not trust workers.
Types of drug tests
The two main types of drug tests that are currently used in America are ones that are performed before starting employment with a business or company and random ones that are performed throughout an individual’s employment. By using a test prior to employment it can be quickly and easily established if a potential employee is a user of illegal drugs, such as marijuana or meth. This acts as a great way of screening those people that businesses and companies are thinking about giving a job to.
Because many working environments require the staff to be of sound mind and judgment, then randomized and completely unannounced drug tests can be an effective means of finding those employees who are using illegal drugs on a regular basis and have some in their system whilst actually at work. By adopting such a testing strategy, businesses and companies can ensure that all of their employees are complying with any drug policy that may be in place. However, some members of staff have got wise to this and so always carry around with them some fake pee so that they can pass a drug test, even if they are actually intoxicated at the time.
Main reasons for drug tests
Each business and company will have their own corporate reasons for putting drug tests in place. The main ones though include for keeping the work place a safe space to be in, protecting the organization, and finally identifying those employees who may have a problem with using illegal drugs.
It is only right that businesses and companies do all that they can to ensure that the environment that their employees are working in is a safe one. Anyone that is under the influence of prohibited substances has the potential to cause harm to their colleagues, either intentionally or unintentionally. It is, therefore, important that no employees turn up to work having just used an illegal drug – this is where random drug tests are effective. Another point to mention is that those employees who are intoxicated are much less efficient in what they do than those who are not. This then can have a detrimental effect on the bottom line of the business or company if this behavior goes unchecked.
In some certain states within America, it is a legal requirement for businesses and companies to maintain a workplace that is completely free from the use of illegal drugs. Implementing random drug tests is a way in which they can abide by such laws.