Legal and ethical issues in workplace drug testing programs

Workplace Drug Screening

Testing for drugs has developed into a significant security concern in places of work for management. The purpose of screening is to diminish the effects that illegal substance abuse has on the places of business, comprising lateness, non-attendance, turnover, mind-set troubles, theft, reduced output, misdeeds and hostility. "The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that drug use in the workplace costs employers $75 to $100 billion dollars annually in lost time, accidents, health care and workers compensation costs. Sixty-five percent of all accidents on the job are related to drug or alcohol, and substance abusers utilize 16 times as many health care benefits and are six times more likely to file workers compensation claims then non-abusers" (Intro to Drug Screening, n.d.).

Employers often implement drug testing programs because of federal rules and they have to or they do it because of business or legal necessities. Testing for drugs can also be done on a voluntary basis by way of a drug free plan put into place in order to decrease incidents of substance abuse among company workers. There are situations in which employers need to carry out drug testing on workers or potential workers in precise kinds of circumstances. Some instances of these screening and the circumstances in which they are utilized include:

Tests that are done prior to employment -- employers carry out screenings on job prospects and make offers of employment based on the results

Tests are done after an accident occurs -- employers screen workers who are involved in accidents that happen on the job in order to see if drug use contributed to what happened

Testing is done on a random basis - employers test workers on a random basis to catch drug usage

Tests are given when there is reasonable suspicion -- employers test workers after seeing examples of behavior that might be the result of drug use, indications of being intoxicated, or following an arrest or conviction for substance abuse

Tests are given following treatment -- workers who have come back to work after taking part in an alcohol or other drug treatment program can either be randomly tested or screened at specific periods in order to make sure they are not using (Drug Testing for the Workplace, 2011).

Drug screening is typically a process that entails assessing a person's urine, blood, hair or saliva, in order to identify if any of these include any amounts of certain illegal substances. The most regularly used kind of drug screen in a urinalysis in which an examination of a urine sample is done. "Immediate results can be obtained by submerging a special test card into the urine sample, or, for more exact data on traces of different drugs, the sample is sent to a lab to undergo such procedures as EMIT (enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique) GC/MS (gas chromatography & mass spectrometry), and liquid chromatography" (Drug Testing, 2007).

The preponderance of drug screenings are done by having a person go to a lab, where a sample of urine is given. The sample is then tested for the presence of illegal substances. Tests that come out negative are usually obtainable in about one day. There are also test kits on the market that can be also be utilized that are comparable to home pregnancy tests. Even though these screens are thought to be precise for instant screenings, they are ineffective in the occurrence that the test comes back positive, since it is then necessary to have a laboratory verify the results (Intro to Drug Screening, n.d.).

Urinalysis is thought to be a highly controversial kind of drug screening because of many different questions that surround it. Those who are against its use claim that it is not capable of identifying drugs if they were used within the latest six to eight hours. It is also thought that the outcomes of the test can be very easily tainted. Some of the ways that are used to taint probable illegal substance recognition in samples include using artificial urine as well as utilizing a variety of things to mask the presence of drugs in the urine drug presence. This can include drinking large quantities of water or using detox products. Another argument that opponents use is that samples of urine can be utilized by employers for genetic screenings that can be used to identify those with unwanted health issues which might lead to cases of subversive prejudice (Drug Testing, 2007).

A saliva drug screen is one that is used to identify an incidence of materials that have been taken very recently. A saliva drug screen can be carried out at a place of employment, which makes it very convenient. Its echelon of accurateness is typically comparable with that of a urine test. This type of drug screen is often used after an accident has taken place and for determining impairment at a specific point in time (Drug Testing, 2007).

Formerly, sweat screens were a frequently used type of drug screening. This test was carried out by placing special patches with security features on a person's skin for a period of about two weeks. The results of this test reveal the likely use of illegal substances over an extended time period. Presently, sweat substance screens are not frequently used are it is unable to detect abuse of a lot of contemporary substances. "A blood test is the most invasive type of drug screening, but it also gives the most accurate results and can be used to detect a presence of many synthetic modern agents" (Drug Testing, 2007).

Supporters of regular or random drug screening maintain that employers have an ethical right to a good amount of work for a realistic amount of pay. They also have a right to look into anything that gravely hinders a worker giving a reasonable day's work. It's a recognized fact that illegal substances can considerably harm a person's work routine by lowering efficiency. Workers who use illegal substances are twice as likely to be absent from work, have a higher job turnover rate, and have medical expenses that are three times higher than non-others. Additionally, it is disputed that humanity has an ethical duty to guard the health and safety of its people. Illegal substance use in the workplace comprises a serious danger to other people. It has been found that workers who abuse drugs have three times the accidents as those who don't use. In some cases these accidents could have horrendous consequences (This is a Test: The Dilemmas of Drug Testing, 2010).