Why should your company implement a pre-employment drug testing plan?
You should have pre-employment drug tests to protect the integrity of your business and ensure a safe environment for all of your workers. Have a plan in place that clearly states what tests will be ordered for new employees and your plan for both random drug tests and reasonable suspicion testing. Also, if you want different levels of testing for different positions that you might be hiring for or promoting up to, state that clearly in your plan.
What substances should our drug testing plan include?
You can design a panel that includes the drugs you want to test for. There are urine panels that test five or more substances. You can include marijuana (THC) or exclude it depending on your personal preferences. You can also include or exclude alcohol. To be sure the candidate has not just suspended drug use briefly to get a negative reading on the urine test, some employers are using hair follicle testing. This type of employment drug test can indicate drug use as far back as 90 days. Soteria Screening Labs can help you determine the testing process that will meet your needs.
Are false-positive cannabis results common?
Urine drug testing can detect cannabis up to 30 days after use. In states where medical marijuana use is legal, employers can still test and require to see the applicants prescription to validate use. False-positive results can happen if the applicant has been exposed to an excessive amount of secondhand smoke, CBD usage, or some HIV drugs. Soteria Labs will run a different type of test to find out if it was indeed a false-positive.
Am I required to include THC testing?
Depending on the type of business you are in, you may not be required to include alcohol or THC in your pre-employment drug testing. These are requirements for the medical field, working with large machines, and some businesses that work with the public and could cause harm. Some companies do not want these tests in their employment drug testing. There is an established drug panel that does not include it.
What are the most commonly ordered substances in drug testing?
The five-panel drug test includes:
- Cannabis – THC, hashish, CBD
- Amphetamines – speed, meth, medications for ADHD and sleep disorders
- Cocaine and crack cocaine
- Opioids – heroin, opium, codeine, and morphine
- Phencyclidine – PCP
The 10-panel drug test includes:
- All five drugs listed above
- Barbiturates – phenobarbital, secobarbital, downers
- Benzodiazepines – Valium, Xanax
- Methadone – used in the treatment of heroin addiction
- Methaqualone – Quaaludes
- Propoxyphene – Darvon compounds
How far will my prospects and employees have to travel for drug testing?
Soteria Screening Labs has over 10,000 facilities across the US. They come to your businesses for on-site testing and then take the samples back to the lab for results. Soteria will also come to the scene of an accident to test your employee if they are driving for you.
Do I have to refuse to hire an applicant due to a failed test?
You should write the drug testing policy for your business to clearly state how you will handle a failed drug test. Some companies will still hire someone if they fail the alcohol or cannabis test with the understanding that they will be terminated immediately if they fail a random test or one conducted due to reasonable suspicion.
If you have more questions about drug testing, please seethe Soteria blog and news page for more information. The experts at Soteria can help you find the closest lab and set up your companys prospective employee screening panel. Give them a call at (202) 679-6670.
