Different Situations Of Drug Testing At Workplace

Employers execute drug-free workplace programs to safeguard their businesses from the influence of drug abuse. So, they perform drug testing for employees at different situations.

• Pre-employment testing is organized to prevent the hiring of individuals who illegally use drugs and those applicants whose result is negative is generally selected for job.
• Random also known as spot testing, is a strong obstacle to drug users because it is conducted on an unannounced or unpredicted basis.
• Reasonable suspicion/cause testing, sometimes called as “probable-cause” or “for-cause” testing, is conducted when supervisors have sufficient evidence to suspect illicit drug use by employee who has physical symptoms of being under the impact of drugs or impressions of abnormal or erratic behavior.
• Post-accident testing is conducted following an accident. It is sometimes called as “post-incident” testing. It helps determining whether drugs were a factor of accident. Examples include death, injuries that make someone to be removed from the place for medical care, damage to vehicles and charges issued by the police.
• Return-to-duty testing involves a one-time, announced test conducted on an employee who has tested positive previously and is qualified to return to the workplace after completing substance abuse treatment. This type of testing is also conducted for any employee who has been absent for longer period.
Follow-up testing is conducted on an employee who returns to work after rehabilitation for a drug problem and tested at unannounced (surprise) random intervals to make sure that the individual remains drug-free.

Other types of testing used by employers are voluntary, probationary, pre-promotion, return-after illness, and blanket testing (where all employees are tested).