What Is Drug Screening?

Why Employers Drug Test?

How It Works?

Drug screening or testing is a common service that many employers us as part of their pre-employment screening process.  In some cases a test does not need to be run at all as a job applicant will just “not show up” for the test and that can be all the employer needs to know.

In order to conduct Drug Screening, an employer would go through the following process.

1.  The employer provides the job applicant with a multi part form that they obtain from their background check company

2.  The employer provides the applicant with the address of the collection facility.  Quest and Labcorp are the most popular with over 2200 locations in the U.S.

3.  The applicant walks into the collection facility during business hours and provides a urine sample (no appointment needed, no cost)

4.  The urine sample and the paperwork are secured and sent to a lab for testing

5.  In approximately 2 business days, your background check company will return to you a result of positive or negative in the report with any other searches you may have ordered

What Does The Test Look For?

10 Panel Drug Tests are the most popular and they search for:

Amphetamines
Cocaine
Marijuana (THC)
Phencyclidine(PCP)
Opiates
Barbituates
Benzodiazepines
Methaqualone
Propoxyphene
Methadone

Why Do Employers Run Drug Screening?:

Drug screening helps to promote a safe and drug-free work place. The benefits of drug screening can include:

· Increased productivity
· Reduced tardiness
· Reduced absenteeism
· Safer work environment
· The saving of time on the hiring process
· Hiring only drug free employees
· Reduced health insurance costs

What If The Person Takes Prescription Medication?

When a positive result is determined by the lab, a medical doctor will call the subject of the search and ask them if they take any prescription medications.  Based on their answers, the doctor will determine if something might be producing a false positive result

(Information provided by U.S. Information Search, Inc. is a national background check company located in Nyack, New York.)