When a pre-employment drug test is required, the job offer is contingent upon the applicant’s passing the test with a clean result. Drug testing streamlines onboarding and is an effective HR monitoring tool. Pre-employment drug testing is a powerful risk management tool that provides a safer, more productive workplace, helps decrease employee turnover and absenteeism, reduces employer risk, and lowers workers’ compensation incidence rates by reducing the chance for accidents and injuries.
Here’s what you should know about pre-employment drug testing and why this is an important step in the hiring process.
What Is A Pre-Employment Drug Screening?
A drug screening is initiated before a job offer is proposed and is usually conducted at an offsite healthcare facility. A urine test is the standard type of drug screening utilized and is the test of choice mandated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). However, there are other types of pre-employment drug screenings such as the saliva, blood, and hair test.
A urine test, or urinalysis, is the most common test for employment purposes. There are two types of urinalysis—the drug screen and the drug test or confirmation. The drug screen comes first and is usually followed by a test or confirmation if necessary.
Please note, labs are not always looking for actual drugs in these samples; mostly they are looking for drug metabolites. Once the body takes in a substance, the end product looks much different, once it passes through. For example, illicit drugs are ingested, injected, or inhaled and are released as a metabolite. Drug tests are not actually looking for drugs in a person’s system, but for the metabolites.
Why is a Drug Test Important for Employment?
Pre-employment drug screening helps companies to mitigate risks, since hiring an applicant who uses drugs is risky and costly. Absenteeism, workers’ compensation claims, and possible legal repercussions caused by one errant employee can destroy a business.
You worked hard to build up your business, but you could lose it all from a single drug-related incident at work. Requiring pre-employment drug screening tests for all employees as your official written policy can help you avoid such an incident from happening.
Employees are the most valuable resource of any organization, and the health and safety of those employees is a serious concern. Employees who abuse alcohol or drugs are a danger to themselves and their coworkers. Take the necessary steps you need to prevent the adverse impact of drugs, controlled substances and alcohol abuse in your workplace with a comprehensive policy and a trusted screening partner like KRESS.