Drug Testing for Work
By: Tucker Key
My View
Ehrenreich in the novel "Nickel and Dimmed" brings up the fact that she finds drug-testing absurd. She acts as if drug-testing is uses and inappropriate. I beg to differ because if I were a business owner I would have the responsibilities to keep my consumers safe and satisfied with my workers. I believe that workers that don't do drugs work more efficient then workers that do drugs and it makes it much easier without drugs in a work place.
Drug testing for North Carolina Applicants vs. Employees
Drug Testing for North Carolina Applicants:
Employers in North Carolina may require applicants to take a drug test as a condition of employment. Unless the applicant signs a written waiver, a positive test must be confirmed at an approved laboratory.
Applicants have the right to retest a confirmed positive sample at their own expense, at the same lab that confirmed the sample or at another approved lab of their choosing.
Drug Testing for North Carolina Employees:
North Carolina employers may require employees to take drug tests. There are no restrictions on the circumstances in which an employer may require a drug test.
Testing must be performed under reasonable and sanitary conditions, and “individual dignity” must be respected to the extent possible. Drug tests must be performed by an approved laboratory. Employees have the right to retest a confirmed positive sample at their own expense, at the same lab that confirmed the sample or at another approved lab of their choice.
Legal Claims Arising From Drug Testing
- Violation of state laws and procedures: Although an employer has the legal right to test, it must follow the state’s requirements.
- Disability discrimination: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects an applicant or employee who is taking medication for a disability.
- Race, Age, or Gender discrimination claims: An employer who singles out certain groups of employees for drug testing could face a discrimination claim.
- Invasion of privacy: Even an employer that is allowed or required to test might violate employee privacy in the way it conducts the test.
- Defamation: An employee might have a valid claim for defamation if the employer publicizes that the employee tested positive, the test result was false, and the employer knew or had reason to know of the error.
Drug Positivity Rates by Testing Category
Stats of Marijuana and Drug-Testing Results
- An estimated 6.4 percent, or 7.3 million, of full-time workers reported use of marijuana during the past month.
- Adults aged 26 to 34 were only about half as likely as 18- to 25-year-olds to be past month marijuana users (8.0 vs. 15.9 percent). Past month use of marijuana was lower with increasing age.
- The prevalence of past month marijuana use was higher for males than females. (7.9 vs. 4.3 percent, respectively)
- An estimated 11.0 percent of workers reporting two or more races used marijuana during the past month. This was higher than among non-Hispanic white adults (6.9 percent). Fewer Hispanic adults (4.6 percent) reported past month marijuana use than non-Hispanic white adults who reported two or more races
- Higher educational attainment and higher family income were associated with a lower prevalence of current marijuana use.
News Reports Talks on Random Drug-Testing in the Workplace
Test Detecting Time
Process of Testing
Work Cited
Delaney, Arthur. "Welfare Drug Testing Catches Only 12 Users In Utah." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Aug. 2013. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/27/welfare-drug-testing_n_3822750.html>.
"Drug Testing at Work: Wee in the Cup, Please." - ABC Brisbane. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/03/15/2845810.htm>.
"Drug Test Options Beyond the Urine Cup." Quest Diagnostics Employer Solutions Blog RSS. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://blog.employersolutions.com/drug-test-options-beyond-the-urine-cup/>.
"Drug Use Among American Workers Declined 74% Over Past 25 Years, Finds Unprecedented Analysis of More Than 125 Million Workplace Urine Drug Tests," Quest Diagnostics, November 18, 2013. Last accessed November 30, 2013.
"Welcome." Welcome. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/#sthash.0jPGVA2o.dpbs>.
"2013 Company Overview of Occupational Health Services." 2013 Company Overview of Occupational Health Services. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://www.nmshealth.com/media/overview-2013.html>.