What Do You Need To Look For In Employment Drug Testing?
If you are trying to find the right person for the job, there are a lot of factors that you should consider. Of course, you need to take a look at letters of recommendation, employment history, and education. On the other hand, you are also going to be responsible for the actions of the employee once you hire him or her. Therefore, you need to learn something about the character of the applicant. That is where employment drug testing can be helpful.
If you are trying to find the right person for the job, there are a lot of factors that you should consider. Of course, you need to take a look at letters of recommendation, employment history, and education. On the other hand, you are also going to be responsible for the actions of the employee once you hire him or her. Therefore, you need to learn something about the character of the applicant. That is where employment drug testing can be helpful.
Drug testing should be a part of your routine background check. At the same time, you need to correctly interpret the results of the drug test. What are some of the things that you need to look for?
Take Stock Of Any Prescription Medications That Show Up
First, you should look for prescription medications. There are plenty of people who take one or more prescription medications on a daily basis. Therefore, you should not be surprised if you find prescription medications. On the other hand, you still need to understand what they are.
Some prescription medications will be relatively innocuous. For example, it is possible you may pick up a routine antibiotic on your drug test. If your employee has strep throat, it makes sense that he or she is taking a prescription antibiotic. In contrast, controlled substances need to be investigated further. For example, if your drug test reveals prescription pain medications, you should ask about this.
Make sure that your applicant has a prescription for these pain medications. That way, you know that he or she is not involved in illegal drug dealing. Furthermore, you should also consider whether his or her condition is going to impact his or her condition to do the job. For example, if your employer deals with chronic pain, is that going to impact his or her ability around the workplace? This is something you may want to consider.
Look for Signs of Illicit Drug Use
Of course, you should also look for signs of illicit drug use as well. There are some drugs that should never be on a drug screen because there is no prescription for them. For example, if the drug test is positive for cocaine or heroin, this is something that you should consider. Of course, you should make sure the drug test is not a false positive. Then, you should let the employee know what you found and see if he or she can explain himself or herself.
Understand The Limitations Of Drug Testing
When you order drug testing, you need to understand its limitations. For example, every drug is metabolized by the body at a different rate. Just because a drug test is negative doesn’t mean that the employee does not use drugs. It could mean that the employee has simply not used drugs in a while. That is why you need to consider the entire application when you are making a hiring decision.
Consider Random Drug Testing In The Workplace
In some situations, you may want to put random drug testing to work for you. If you work in a field where employees are caring for the lives of others, you need to make sure they are not under the influence on the job. In this situation, you may want to use random drug testing. For example, random drug testing is important in the healthcare field where doctors are making life-and-death decisions. Even though random drug testing is not necessary for every field, it could be important in your industry.
Do Not Overlook Employment Drug Testing
Ultimately, there is a lot that you need to consider if you are looking for the right person for the job. Even though you need to consider training, experience, and education, you also need to do a thorough background check. Drug testing should be a part of your background check. You need to look for both prescription and illicit drugs. Any positive test results, regardless of their nature, need to be addressed. Finally, depending on your industry, you may want to use random drug testing on current employees as well. That way, you can protect yourself, your employees, and your clients from harm.