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Urine Sample Required of
Job Seekers
1/13/2003
By SHARON LINSTEDT
It used to be that
the keys to a successful job search were a solid resume and good
interview skills. Now more often than not, job applicants also have
to score a passing grade on a drug test to seal the deal.
"With all my
experience, it came down to peeing in a paper cup," said Paul, who
recently made a mid-life career leap to a quality control job at a
local manufacturing company.
"I hadn't looked
for work in 20 years, so it never occurred to me that a urine sample
could have such importance. It felt like an invasion of privacy, but
if you want to work nowadays, I guess this is what you do."
Paul, who passed
his test with flying colors, is among the millions of American
workers who have faced mandatory drug and alcohol screenings as a
condition of their employment. And it's likely he'll encounter
future testings if his new employer is among the growing number of
businesses that have added random testing to their workplace
routines.
"It used to be
primarily companies governed by federal rules that tested employees,
particularly transportation jobs, like truck drivers and railroad
workers," said Wayne Groves, founder of Buffalo-based Aurora Drug
Testing Services. "That was my bread and butter when I started my
business in 1995."
While
government-regulated industries still provide a strong business base
for Groves' company, his client roster now includes businesses he
would not have imagined, ranging from a small appliance repair
company with just over a dozen staffers, to Buffalo Bisons and
Rochester Red Wings Baseball. "Now it could be any company in any
field, big or small. It doesn't seem to matter what kind of business
it is, employers want to know who's working for them," Groves said.
According to the
American Management Association (AMA), 51.7 percent of companies now
require all new hires to undergo medical testing, up from 48.7
percent in 1998. Another 13.6 percent require screenings for
selected categories of workers.
According to the
AMA's 2002 employer survey, drug testing is the primary factor in
workplace medical testings, practiced by 67 percent of major U.S.
firms. The so-called "fitness for duty" tests are generally limited
to screening for street drugs, with most electing to use a basic
"five panel" test that checks for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines,
PCP and opiates.
Keep in mind that
some prescription drugs, such as codeine will trigger a positive on
the test. The same goes for diet compounds that contain
amphetamines.
A positive test
from a legal drug shouldn't present a problem as long as it can be
explained through documentation from a doctor or pharmacy. Also, in
most cases, the screenings are not broad enough in scope to detect
other types of legal drugs workers would probably prefer to keep
private, such as anti-depressants, Viagra, or fertility drugs. And
while a urine sample could be used to determine if an applicant or
worker is pregnant, only 0.8 percent of companies check for that in
their testings.
Some 2.9 percent
include breast and colon cancer in the tests, while 2.2 percent
screen for HIV infection.
While the tests may
feel invasive, employers are well within their rights to require job
applicants and current employees ante up samples of urine, saliva,
sweat, hair or in rare cases, blood, as long as the screenings are
done for appropriate reasons, following accepted testing protocol.
"There has to be a
good reason like an accident on the job, or smell of alcohol, it
can't be because of race, gender, personality differences or
productivity concerns," Buffalo labor lawyer Rob Boreanz said.
Employees who
believe they are being singled out for testing should check if there
is a written policy that defines "good cause." If none exists, they
should find out who made the request for testing and why.
If there are still
concerns, the worker should get as much documentation as possible
for a potential challenge, including exercising their right to a
"split sample," which they could have screened by an independent lab
of their choice.
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