Drug Testing In The Workplace Essay

The Great War was a tragedy: modern weaponry and Gentleman’s war collided, causing millions of lives lost in what was considered to be the war to end all wars. The war was ignited by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. The chain of events that followed were, however motivated by the imperialistic, militaristic, and paranoid characteristics of the governments of Europe, caused by Germany, whose characteristic ambitions burned out hot and fast in the late 19th and early 20th century. Germany is largely to blame for the start of the Great War due to their imperialist and militarist pursuits as well as their alliance system. Germany’s imperial ambitions

This is not a new technique as it has been around for sometime though in a different setting. Currently, most Americans working in either the private or the public sector must undergo a urinalysis test in order to keep their present jobs or get a new one (The Lectric Law Library par.2). This test is carried out in order to assess whether the worker is using drugs in order to evaluate the job performance of that particular worker. However, this exercise has faced a number of obstacles particularly law suits that have seen many federal courts rule out these practices in the workplaces. They are considered unconstitutional except when there is a reasonable suspicion on a particular individual who can then be forced to undertake the tests. Despite these obstacles many people believe that the employers have a right to assess the performance of their employers in order to safeguard their investments. Moreover, innocent employees need not worry if they have nothing to hide about their personal lives since the tests do not pose any life threatening experiences (The

In September 1986, President Reagan issued Executive Order 12564. This was done in an effort to make the Federal Government a drug free work place. He believed that persons who used illegal drugs were not suitable for Federal employment. The order required the heads of governmental agencies to establish both a voluntary and mandatory testing program to determine the use of illegal drugs by employees in sensitive positions.

There are a lot of companies that require any job applicant to submit a drug test. According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 66% of substance abusers age 18 and older were employed. Employers spend between thirty and fifty dollars per test per person. Employees find that substance abusers increase employee turnover which end up costing them more money in the long run because of the cost of training. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration conducted a study in 2007 that said substance abusers change jobs as often as three times a year. Employers that require drug testing saw a 16% decrees in employee turnover rates. Another reason an employer may require drug testing is because people with no substance abuse problems are more productive. People with substance abuse problems are also 2.5 times more likely to call into work. Companies who require drug testing also saw a 50% decrease in workers compensation clams. So in the long run, employers end up saving a lot of time and money by drug testing all job applicants.

How many people have had an interview for a job, received a call that they were hired, and then heard their future employer say that they will have to do a drug test before they can start this new job? “Although many people think that illegal drugs such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine and other street drugs became a problem for youth in the 1960’s the truth of the matter is that there has always been a drug problem in the United States when it comes to substance abuse”(testcountry.org). This past summer I had an interview at Russel Stover Candies, when they called to tell me that the position was mine, they then informed me that I would have to pass a drug test before I could officially have the job. Although some jobs and people believe that drug testing in the workplace should take place, many people do not believe in drug testing. Opponents of WDT (Workplace drug testing) argue that the process of drug testing amounts to an unwarranted invasion of a person’s private life and their body. Some people believe that the statement “free consent” is impossible to obtain. Drug testing did not come into play in the United States until the late 1980’s as a part of the Reagan administration. Before that, there was no standard way for jobs, schools, and even sports to drug test employees, students, or athletes. People that had jobs working with heavy machinery or people that worked in the Department of Transportation were mainly the ones getting drug tested. The issues with drug

Many employees feel that drug testing is an invasion of their privacy. Whatever they do in their free time is their business and should be no concern of their employer. An employee should not know when another employee is tested and the results of that testing should not be shared with other employees.

Throughout recent years, applicant drug testing has become one of the most prevalently used strategies by many organizations to control substance abuse in the workplace. Drug testing is a selection tool used by organizations to determine whether or not an individual has previously used drugs and/or alcohol. Most employers find that drug testing, if done correctly, is a worthwhile investment associated with increased workplace safety, lower absenteeism, fewer on-the-job accidents, improved productivity, lower theft rates, and less medical and workers' compensation expenses (Grondin 142). By identifying and screening out substance abusers, organizations believe that they are also screening out those

Since drug testing will continue to be implemented around some type of consistency should be established. A company should only be allowed to drug test in the following circumstances; pre-employment, reasonable suspicion or just cause, post-accident, randomly among all of the entire staff force, periodically with jobs who carry weapons or are in charge on saving lives, like doctors and nurses, and when an employee, who took a leave of absence to seek help for a drug abuse problem. With more and more states legalizing the recreational use of marijuana the states and federal laws need to be re-established. Do some companies allow the use of marijuana while others do not? There needs to be consistency across the board for every employer, whether it be a government job, private employer, and part of a union. People who are in jobs that carry weapons, operate large machinery, or are in a health care field should always be tested for drugs periodically and randomly. Their job duties entitle them to work with other and around other people. A person’s negative life choices should not have a causality on other civilians. If a police officer is on LSD and pulls his gun and starts shooting it, there is a major problem. It is important that these people are not impaired while working on the

Today in the United States, 73% of drug users are employed, costing American businesses billions of dollars annually in lost productivity and health care costs. Studies reveal that employees who abuse drugs have a tremendously harmful effect on the workplace—they are more likely to have extended absences from work, show up late, be involved in workplace accidents, and file workers’ compensation claims.

     There are different testing categories, and each comes under its own legal questioning. The first and by far the most common type of drug testing is pre-employment testing. This usually takes place when a company has decided to hire an employee, but makes that prospective employee pass a drug test before any sort of employment agreement is settled. Second, there is random drug testing that can involve two different policies. The first, simply being that random employees names are picked to undergo the testing. The second requiring all employees to take a drug test on a random day that can either be pre-announced or not. For example, my high school conducted drug testing on random students and on random days in a month. The third type of testing allows employers to test when they have reasonable suspicion to believe

The issue of drug testing in the workplace has sparked an ongoing debate among management. There are many who feel that it is essential to prevent risks to the greater public caused by substance abuse while on the job. However, others believe that the costs far outweigh the benefits and that it is an invasion of privacy. Putting all ethical issues aside, evidence presented in this paper supports the latter. The costs of drug testing are excessive and only a small percentage of employees are actually found to be substance users. Drug testing in the work place has a negative effect on productivity; contrary to what was originally intended. It actually decreases productivity instead of improving it. Drug testing causes a feeling

Drug testing is the evaluation of a urine, blood, hair or other type of bio. Drug testing is one action an employer can take to determine if employees or job applicants are using drugs. It can identify evidence of recent use of alcohol, prescription drugs and illegal drugs logical sample to determine if the subject has been using the drug or drugs in question. There are many circumstances

The Body Project: An Intimate History of Girls by Joan Jacobs Brumberg chronicles the change in attitudes towards the female body throughout American history. From the Victorian Era’s focus on internal beauty standards to the 1920’s flapper beauty ideal, Brumberg explores the shifting focus which may or may not have helped girls in the long run.

Literature implies that employee drug use in the workplace may create high costs to firms in the form of lower productivity, increased absences, and an increase in workplace accidents. As a response to these costs, employers have implemented a variety of policies and programs to decrease employee drug use. Educational programs and standards such as “Zero Tolerance” policies, employers have turned to drug testing programs more in the past decades. About 46 percent of American workers report that their employer conducts drug testing, although other sources indicate that 90 percent of Fortune 200 companies use some type of drug testing (Flynn 1999). The factor behind workplace drug

Because of my experience in preschool, I was not all that scared. That is mainly because I was put in kindergarten earlier before on accident; so I already know what to expect. On the other hand, I was a little nervous on meeting new people, but that diminished within the first day. Then from that day onward, I was the happiest little thing ever. I was so excited to come to school each day. I liked the change. My preschool class was really tiny, not many people at all. However, starting from kindergarten and onward, it was never really the same, and I really liked that.