Drug Testing in the Workplace

When you’re seeking employment anywhere, you should expect to undergo a drug test. While not every employer requires pre-employment drug screenings or occasional screenings for current employees, many employers require that prospective employees are tested before they’re hired. Many randomly test their employees for as long as they’re employed to keep drug use in the workplace at a minimum.

When is a Drug Test Legal?

While you may required to undergo a drug test as a condition of employment, there are certain conditions in which the test itself might not be legal. You can be asked to provide a blood sample or a urine sample in a doctor’s office, but your privacy must be respected. No employer could force you to give a urine sample in the presence of a group of people, for example. Another person of the same sex may be legally allowed to be present to avoid tampering with the sample.

In some states, you can’t be asked to submit to a drug test until you’ve been offered a position—they can’t drug test you and then decide if they want to hire you. In other states where they can ask for a test before offering you a position, they can’t drug test some of the applicants and not the rest. All applicants must be treated the same. If testing the hair is the standard test, an employer can’t ask a few for hair samples and expect the rest to give blood samples, for instance.

What You Should Know

An employer should always make you aware that drug testing is expected. While you’re obviously aware that you’re being tested for drugs if you’re asked to give a urine or blood sample, a hair test can be done without your knowledge by the employer gathering a stray hair. That is illegal testing—you must give consent to be drug tested.

Some states do allow just one employee to be tested if there’s reason to suspect the employee has a drug and/or alcohol problem, other states do not. Some states allow for an employer to immediately fire an employee who tests positive for drugs or alcohol on the job, other states mandate rehabilitation opportunities first. Much about the consequences of drug testing depends on the state where the test was performed.

Spot Illegal Drug Testing Procedures

Drug testing should follow the same procedures from person to person.

• Advance warning should be given before the tests
• No one group of people (an ethnic group, women) has been singled out for testing
• The same test should be given to everyone
• Your privacy should be guarded while providing the sample
• If an issue is raised, the employer should be able to tell you exactly which illegal substance(s) was found in your system
• It should be clear the test was done properly
• A positive result should see the employee retested before other action is taken
• The results should be confidential, just like every other piece of information in your personnel file

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