Why Drug Screen in the Workplace?
Drug screening in the workplace can seem unnecessary to some employees, but vital to many companies for safety and employee accountability.
Going through a lab service can include costly fees, not to mention time away for the employees in order to go for screening. Depending on the type of employment place, this may not be the most efficient method to screen.
When should drug testing be administered in the workplace? What are the benefits?
Employee accountability for safety: Random screening for safety-sensitive jobs (example DOT jobs that require an employee to operate a vehicle or moving machine)
Benefits: Aligning with the licensing and liability practices of the company. This can also deter employees from actively consuming drugs if it can cost their reputation and loss of job
Pre-employment screening: Screening individuals during the hiring process to determine if a candidate is potentially abusing drugs.
Benefits: Reducing turnover
Post- incident reporting: Employees consuming drugs increase their chances of errors and injuries on the job.
Benefits: Screening can help document potential legal action or the repercussions of results
Reasonable Suspicion: Employees exhibiting impaired speech, behavior or cognition that can place the employee and others at risk
Benefits: Safety precautions for the employee and their co-workers. This may allow the opportunity for the employee to seek help to recover and options for action recourse.
Adhering to the guidelines of a Union, DOT, and or other organizational licensing and regulation is important to running a legal and professional business.
How do I know what drugs to test for?
Most guidelines are specific when it comes to specific drug panels to include for employee drug screening. The main seven include: Benzodiazepines (BZO), Opiates (OPI or MOP), oxycodone (OXY), methadone (MTD), cocaine (COC), amphetamines (AMP) and Marijuana (THC).
If you believe other drugs are prevalent within your location, you are welcome to include other panels, either in a specialty single panel or multiple drug tests. Our easy@Home and Areta drug tests start with a single panel and include up to a 14 panel, including some with Adulterates(A3) to screen the urine sample itself.
Easy Healthcare Corporation provides an array of drug screening products to test your employees discreetly. Reduce time and added costs, and get same-day test results!
To learn more, please contact our customer service team at 1.855.822.6999 or visit our drug test product listings for catalog kit listings
References:
https://healthcare-manager.com/collections/drug-tests
http://www.datia.org/datia-resources/27-credentialing/cpc-and-cpct/931-workplace-drug-testing.html
https://www.psychemedics.com/workplace-drug-testing/
https://healthcare-manager.com/blogs/what-are-common-addictive-drugs
https://blog.employersolutions.com/10-reasons-to-implement-a-workplace-drug-testing-program/