Drug Testing

Reasons for Testing

Drug testing is part of a larger search for workers with individual health risks, as opposed to a search for hazards from working conditions. Employers test for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, and other drugs as they have screened for smoking, reproductive hazards, genetic traits, HIV/AIDS, and other conditions or personal habits that may expand their liability, hinder productivity, or create adverse publicity. In the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S. Department of Defense began its drug testing of military personnel to address free access to a wide variety of drugs. Increased company drug testing emerged from the military's surveillance program, the Ronald Reagan administration's antidrug mandate, new Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Aviation Administration regulations, and the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, which required federal contractors and grantees to have substance abuse policies. Companies developed random drug testing programs for people in safety-sensitive positions—such as interstate truckers and petroleum pipeline workers—that local, state, or federal regulations required.

Drug testing has become widespread in the workplace. Transportation companies do extensive random drug testing of workers covered by DOT rules, and most states allow other random testing programs that apply to everybody in the company. Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to reasonably accommodate disabled workers, it generally permits drug screening. Most large and medium-sized U.S. companies conduct drug testing.

Testing is particularly common in utility, oil, chemical, and other companies that perceive special safety hazards. Drug testing statutes and case law tend to distinguish between job applicants and employees—generally allowing broader testing of applicants. However, applicants and employees have comparable interests in avoiding tests that could deprive them of health insurance and employment opportunities, and considerations of privacy, fairness, and fundamental rights apply to both. Nonetheless, the law especially encourages applicant drug testing. Companies generally test all applicants for drugs, regardless of their job level, whether production or white-collar workers. The degree of sophistication varies. At one end of the spectrum are nuclear power plants, with elaborate random and for-cause testing programs mandated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Energy. Others, like banks and manufacturing companies, concentrate on new-hire drug testing to evaluate whether workers are fit for jobs. Some companies test only for cause, after accidents or job performance problems create suspicion of drug use.

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