Most big companies have been using their right to ask employees to do the drug test for years. In many corporations, especially those dealing with responsible jobs, this testing is a mandatory action, implemented in a collective agreement and an individual labor contract. Employers cover all expenses of employees’ examination; it is in their interest to have ‘clean’ staff.

Employers can’t afford the risk to have or hire someone under the influence of opiates; these people are a potential danger as they can cause workplace accidents. Apart from the damage that arose, that could ruin the reputation of the company.

Drug abuse is one of the reasons why people get fired. How this can ruin their careers, read on this page: https://careersingovernment.com/tools/gov-talk/career-advice/on-the-job/drug-use-can-alcohol-drugs-destroy-career-silently/.

Also, companies use drug tests as an additional type of selection when hiring workers. While some employers perform routine testing (even the permissible limits, if a drug test result is positive), others are very rigorous and predict severe sanctions for employees.

When Companies Conduct Drug Test

To prevent any possibility that their business will be compromised, many companies conduct preventive testing for opiates. On the other hand, some employers are not too responsible, s they perform drug tests only as needed. Situations, when employees and job seekers can expect companies to undergo drug tests, are listed below.

During the Employment Process

Given that competition in the labor market is high, companies are conducting many pre-employment tests to find and hire the best candidate. Therefore often use drug testing as an elimination factor in the recruitment process.

After candidates pass all tests related to their knowledge and skills, employers narrow the choice to several the best individuals and offer them conditional labor contracts. And one of the clauses they have to fulfill is a negative drug test. All applicants should agree with that, and then access the testing.

People who occasionally use drugs risk a negative result if their future employer decides to conduct a sudden drug test. However, if you are familiar with the recruitment process and know that drug tests will happen sooner or later, you can prepare for it.

Random Drug Testing

This is something most employees are afraid of, even if they don’t do drugs. These sudden drug tests are reasons many people got fired. Employers conduct random, unannounced testing, so employees can’t prepare.

Most often, there are no clear criteria for the choice of who will be tested. Everyone has the same chances to undergo a drug test. The selection is most often done through computer-generated algorithms and is absolutely arbitrary.

Employers can decide to perform a drug test once and never again. But if some higher instance order so, this testing can become routine. If drug tests are conducted at a particular time interval, then we can talk about periodic drug testing.

Reasonable Doubt

People who used narcotics have many reasons to be afraid of the consequences if the employer has a reasonable doubt in their sobriety at the workplace. If you cause the suspicion with your behavior, you can likely expect to undergo a drug test in no time. In this case, companies act preventively to prevent workers under the influence of drugs to hurt themselves or others and cause damage.

Before performing drug tests, the suspected worker is monitored, and if necessary, the employer will investigate and interrogate other workers and managers. Executives can subject an employee to the drug tests, but they also must respect privacy and discretion rights. While expecting a drug test result, employees usually got several days off.

After the Accident

Workplace accidents happen, either by the employees or employers fault. To determine this, companies have the right to perform post-accident drug testing in order to examine whether employee under the effects of opiates caused the situation. Companies insist on drug testing if the material damage is significant, or if there are human victims or some environmental laws have been violated.

Also, the police may insist that the suspected employee undergo the drug test, as soon as possible. As seen on cleardrugtests.com, most opiates in the body are detectable in the next 12-24 hours. However, just testing is not enough. The drug test results can be positive, but this doesn’t prove guilty unless police and competent authorities do a complete investigation.

Types of Testing Companies Use

Drug tests are a significant expense for the companies, especially if they must perform them frequently. It is, therefore, essential to simplify the procedure and speed up getting the results. So most common drug tests are urine and saliva drug test, as their results are ready immediate or in a couple of days if companies send the samples to drug testing labs. In rare situations, when more detailed testing is required, employers can opt for a blood test. This is the most expensive type of testing, and there should be a strong reason why a company should perform it.

Urine and saliva are easy-to-collect samples, and these tests can be done fast. These don’t require a specific sampling process or equipment, so they can be done at the spot. Many employers carry out drug testing routinely; they only matter whether or not the presence of opiates is determined. This gives them enough information to carry out further procedures.

Can You Reject Drug Test?

The answer to this question can be both ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ Job candidates can give up before testing, which deprives them of a job opportunity, but there are no other sanctions. Employers respect the privacy rules of applicants and do not provide drug test results to other companies.

However, there is a slightly different situation for employees. In order to avoid charges of discrimination against workers, companies must get the approval of all employees to be tested on drugs. This is the standard part of the employment contract. When it comes to the drug test, employees have the right to refuse it. But the employer has the right to determine sanctions in that case (which should not endanger the worker in any way).