It is due to these issues that most employers, including the majority of all Fortune 500 companies require an applicant and workers to participate in drug testing at work. The purpose for this type of urine screening is due to safety issues and to lessen these consequences from substance abuse.

Studies show that 65% of all accidents at the workplace, are drug related. A worker who abuses drugs average around 16% more likely to take advantage of healthcare benefits, and is also 6% more prone to file worker’s compensation.

Safety professionals find drug testing to be useful and a practical in cost. The most common type of testing is pre-employment. This is a great way to eliminate bad applicants, and people with drug problems. A pre-employment drug test requires minimal effort to set up. Another type of testing is post employment. This includes random drug tests, individualized suspicion testing, and post accidents.

An employer should have a program in place before starting their company. The tests can be managed by referring an applicant to a collection site. It is here that urine is collected and sent to a lab for analysis. Within 24 hours a negative result is usually available. A second method used is an instant drug test kit. These are similar to a take home pregnancy test. The employer must manipulate a urine sample.

The type of drugs that are tested is what is considered a standard five-panel test of “street drugs”. This includes marijuana (THC), cocaine, PCP, opiates (codeine and morphine) and amphetamines (includes methamphetamine). If an employer chooses there is also a 10-panel drug test that is able to identify prescription drugs.

Typically drugs stay in the body for 2 to 4 days. If an applicant or worker is a chronic user drugs have been known to stay in their body for 14 days, or sometimes longer. Most employers require a test to be done within a short specific amount of time. This prevents delaying an amount of time, for the drug(s) to leave the body.

The amount of money and time connected with a substance abuse employee is highly excessive than the amount of money and time involved in drug screening. Most employers find that eliminating the problem first is well worth it.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accused the airline of assigning 13 employees to safety-sensitive positions before they received the test results of their drug and alcohol tests. United Airlines was given 30 days to act at the FAA’s cost proposal. The offense occurred all through the airline and involved workers on the flight crew, service and maintenance teams, said FAA spokesman Paul Turk.

The FAA has also cited United Airlines for failure to use a scientific credible process to make sure that each employer of the airline’s flight crew has an equal chance of being chosen for an alcohol or random drug test. This is not the first time United Airlines have been penalized regarding their drug testing methods. In the past the FAA had warned United Airlines twice.

United Airlines have replied by issuing a statement stating, “We are reviewing the letter and will cooperate fully with the FAA to resolve their concerns.”

This current penalty was significant but not the highest action issued by the FAA. In 2009, US Airways was fined by the agency for $5.4 million for not performing mandatory inspections and maintenance on several aircrafts.United Airlines ranks as the fourth-largest airline in the United States. Last year they had accompanied 54 million passengers onto their airplanes.

United Airlines parent company UAL Corp. recently merged with Continental Airlines Inc. in October 2010. Continental served about 43 million passengers last yearn ranking sixth in the country, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Currently the two airlines are now merged with United Continental Holdings Inc. located in Chicago. They continue to function as separate airlines. United Continental is hoping to receive a single operating certificate from the FAA by the end of this year to complete the merger.

Marijuana is usually consumed by smoking, eating, or ingesting. If any part of the resinous chemical that forms on the leaves of the female plant enters the body, it will test positive on a marijuana drug test. Worldwide it is the third most consumed drug next to Caffeine and Nicotine, and in America it is extremely popular among teens and young adults while still maintaining a significant popularity among the baby boomer population. However even with use of the drug high, negative perception and its illegal status make it a common substance for complete drug testing kits. Unlike Opiates and Amphetamines, Marijuana use can be detected long after it has been consumed; usually two weeks for the average person but a month or more for a heavy user. This is due to the fact that THC is a fat soluble, as opposed to water soluble, chemical. In order to break it down and rid itself of the chemical the body must also break down the fat cells that contain it.

THC drug testing comes in many different forms. There are expensive blood laboratory services but most home drug testing strips offer the same accurate results at a much cheaper price with a simple urine strip. Since marijuana is the most used illegal drug worldwide, there are also less invasive methods as well. Oral saliva drug tests are a cotton swab that the user places in their mouth for a few minutes which can be given on site in public. Hair follicle drug tests for marijuana are also available and can trace substance abuse back to the previous 90 days. Find the proper drug testing method that best suits your needs.

Corporations have traditionally seen drugs tests as necessary to maintain optimal productivity and as the ideal method to “weed” out the “underachievers”. However this logic is sometimes flawed as many drug users are not unproductive, underachieving, losers but in fact hardworking and responsible people. When hired employees have very few rights in the business world being that their time, energy, and personal talents all belong to the corporations that employ them. It seems that the only thing employees have control over is what goes into their bodies, which is perhaps why studies have shown that employees more often view drug abuse as a personal problem (not an issue of the corporation) and the tests for them as an invasion of their privacy. While employees that are already employed may have reason to feel invaded recent studies have shown the majority of people favor drug testing pre-employment. Since the testing is done at a time when the employer has little to no idea what he productivity of the given person is, drug use is perhaps the only thing that can identify someone as a “bad” applicant. Being a productive hired drug-using employee is one thing, but being unemployed is another. The fact that a person is both unemployed and a drug user casts serious doubt upon the work ethic of that particular person.

However issues have arisen over the applicants that are so called “randomly” drug tested. Many studies have shown that more often than not those chosen to be tested are done so not randomly, but handpicked based on racial and stereotypical views. In addition employee rights advocates have cited the large racial and hieratical disparity in the amount and type of people that are tested. Research has shown that African Americans and other minorities applying for lower level jobs are far more likely to be “randomly selected” than whites applying for upper level jobs that are often rarely selected. This hypocrisy is one of the main reasons pre-employment drug testing remains so controversial and considered by many as both unethical and an invasion of privacy.

Regardless of charges of racism and discrimination surrounding it, pre-employment drug testing is here to stay. Although many people who use recreational drugs may be hard working and talented individuals, the negative connotation of the drug user will forever deter an employer from hiring them.

Reasonable suspicion testing is used by employers who have a legitimate reason to think an employee is using drugs. Observable symptoms of drug use, erratic behavior, or excessive absenteeism can all provide a basis for reasonable suspicion testing. Post-accident drug testing is used in the immediate aftermath of an on the job accident. This type of employment drug testing is crucial because, more often than not, on the job accidents result in property damage or personal injury. In these cases, liability becomes the main issue and determining if any of the parties involved were influenced by drugs or alcohol can protect employers from unscrupulous lawsuits or worker’s compensation claims. Return to duty drug testing is used when an employee is returning to work from a long period away, perhaps for maternity leave or a personal sabbatical. This type of employment drug testing should also be used for employees who have failed a drug test previously and have completed the necessary counseling and recovery efforts.

http://www.dol.gov/asp/programs/drugs/workingpartners/dfworkplace/dt.asp