Workplace Drug Screening Opinion

Workplace Drug Screening Opinion

Drug testing is a very sensitive issue to almost everyone . Its implications can be interpreted wrongly by some people . There are many ethical issues that should be considered before employees or workers undergo drug testing . Recognizing that the situation differs in each country and each workplace , ethical issues are one of the most important concerns to be resolved before any testing is undertaken . Rights of workers to privacy and confidentiality , autonomy , fairness , and the integrity of their bodies must be respected , in harmony with national and international

laws and jurisprudence , norms and values (International Labour Office , 1993 ,

.103

In California , the State Law regarding drug testing states that employers of 25 or more must reasonably accommodate employee wishes to participate in a rehabilitation program , provided no undue hardship is created the employee may not have to pay for preemployment or continuing employment exam and the California Department of Health interprets the state 's laboratory licensing law to prohibit any drug test not performed in a certified laboratory or by a licensed physician (U .S . Department of Labor .Employers have different reasons to conduct drug testing including preemployment detection of illicit drug use , determination of fitness to work , maintenance of workplace security , and confirmation of suspended illicit drug or alcohol use (Sloboda Bukoski , 2003 ,

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Drug testing is as simple as it sounds . It uses different methods to determine if illegal drugs or alcohols are being abused by those tested The most common types of drug testing use Breathalyzers and laboratory studies of urine , blood , and hair specimens (Hanson , Venturellli Fleckenstein , 2005 ,

.112 . Aside from these , some methods also make use of saliva and sweat . The most common drugs that are detected by drug tests include amphetamines , barbiturates , benzodiazepines , cocaine marijuana , and metamphetamines (Rodnay , Common Drugs That Are Detected Through Drug Testing . Many companies manufacture drug testing kits that are available for laboratories to use and check for the presence of drugs in people 's body fluids . Because there are a lot of drug test kits in the market , it is important to determine the reliability of these kits . A lot of companies use drug screen tests , which are not reliable yielding approximately 10 percent of false positive results (Lectric Law Library . These false positive results lead to problems mostly for the worker . The employee would face embarrassment , discrimination , and a permanent mark on his or her employment and personal records . This is the reason why it is very important to conduct confirmation tests on those who have tested positive in the initial screening . This is also the reason why employers should not readily judge those workers who have tested positive for drug screening

Discrimination , as to who should be tested or not , should not happen in the workplace . Also , it should not be assumed that a certain company or workplace does not have employees who use and abuse drugs because drug users can not be stereotyped . It is not limited to any...