Drug Testing 101: Pass or Fail?
Having a drug free workplace policy doesn’t mean
employees will not be drug users. The
policy works similarly to not being able to use cell phones on airplanes. Everyone knows the rule, but there will still
be one passenger who has to make a last hushed call or send a quick text. The same applies to having a drug free
workplace policy. Employees may know the
policy, but how does an organization ensure their employees stay drug free? Implementing a drug testing program in the
workplace is one way to ensure this.
Here are some basics you should know when considering a pre-employment
or random drug testing program:
Drug Testing Procedures
Drug Testing Procedures
Drug testing procedures vary with each organization
depending on the hiring cycle, clinics, and many other factors of a drug
testing program. The most common
procedure for conducting a drug test consists of having an applicant or employee
submit his or her specimen at a collection site. Collection sites are certified medical
facilities authorized to collect a specimen, whether it be urine, saliva or
hair, to test for traces of drugs of abuse in the body. The specimen is sent to a lab for processing
and confirmation of any drug usage. If the result is negative, the applicant or
employee has passed the drug test. If
the result is positive, or non-negative in industry terms, the specimen is sent
to a Medical Review Officer (MRO) to verify the results of the drug test. When the MRO completes the review, he or she
will re-confirm or overturn the results.
If the MRO overturns the results, the applicant or employee has passed
the drug test due to having a valid prescription for the substance. If the MRO re-confirms the results, the
applicant or employee has failed the drug test.
Drug
Testing Panels
The term “panels” is synonymous to “types” of drugs being
tested. When employment drug testing was
first used, the common practice was to run a 10 panel test. This 10 panel test included the following
drugs: Marijuana, Cocaine, Phencyclidine (PCP), Opiates, Amphetamines,
Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines, Methadone, Methaqualone and Propoxyphene. Since that time, many changes have shaped the
way drug testing is conducted in the workplace, including involvement with the
Federal Government requiring federal employees and contractors to undergo a 5
panel drug test. The 5 panel drug test includes Marijuana, Cocaine, Phencyclidine (PCP),
Opiates and Amphetamines. This drug testing program has been expanded to
include all employees of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). All
persons designated in safety sensitive jobs that involve transportation or
hazardous materials must be included in this program. Also in recent years, the manufacture of
Methaqualone has stopped and Propoxyphene has been restricted to a small
European market. Therefore, it is common to hear the 9 panel drug test
mentioned when setting up a drug testing program. The 9 panel drug test is identical to the 10
panel drug test with the exclusion of Methaqualone. The three drugs remaining beyond the 5 panel
test, Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines and Methadone, are for the most part found
in prescription drugs. Positive results
for any of these drugs are often overturned by the MRO.
5 vs.
7 Panel Drug Test
Recently, the DOT has added two drugs to their required 5
panel drug test. This has created some
confusion in the industry as to what this new test should be called. The DOT had
previously required a 5 panel drug test that includes the following panels or
classes of drugs: Opiates, Amphetamines Cocaine, Marijuana and Phencyclidine
(PCP). The revised testing requirements added a mandatory test for Heroin (6-MAM)
to the Opiate Panel. In the past, Heroin was only tested for if the Opiate
levels were very high. The other mandatory test added was
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), also known as Ecstasy. As the ending to
the name of the drug implies, this is an amphetamine and was added to the
Amphetamine Panel. This is where the confusion arose. Although the test still
encompasses 5 classes of drugs, the addition of the two extra drugs has some
people calling this a 7 panel test. A true 7 panel includes testing for
Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines.
Urine
Testing
When pre-employment drug testing began, urine testing was
the only type available. It is capable of detecting drug use within the last 48
to 72 hours. Marijuana has a longer window of detection since THC collects in
the fat cells as a fat soluble chemical, while most other drugs are water
soluble. Urine is currently the only approved testing method for any government
programs. The typical drug test checks for the presence of the drug metabolite
and/or the parent drug itself. Metabolites are specific substances the body
produces to make ingested items useable to the body. Urine can be processed either
as a lab based test or a Point of Collection Test known as an Instant Test.
Saliva
Testing
Saliva testing is becoming more popular in employment
testing as it is designed to be collected by the employer and sent to a
laboratory. It tests for the same drugs as urine, but the employee or applicant
does not have to be sent to a collection site to have the sample taken. This
provides the employer with some control in making sure a sample is provided and
cuts down on the time an employee is taken away from his or her work. The
saliva will provide a slightly shorter drug use history than a urine test. The
saliva test also detects the drug sooner than a urine or hair test. This makes
a lab based saliva test the best practice in a post-accident or reasonable
suspicion case. Saliva testing can be either instant or lab based, although lab
based is the most recommended option.
Hair
Testing
Hair testing is the final form of workplace drug testing.
The difference between hair and the other two methods, urine and saliva
testing, is the drug use history available. Hair testing will give you
approximately a 90 day history of drug use while urine and saliva will go back
only about 3 days. This difference is most valuable in pre-employment drug testing.
With urine or saliva, a few days of abstinence by an applicant can defeat the
drug test. However, since hair testing goes back 90 days, outsmarting this test
becomes more difficult. Hair is also an excellent tool used in random drug
testing programs. The purpose of a random program is not to catch people, but
rather to act as a deterrent. A non-drug user who is being tempted to try an
illicit drug will know that he or she has to worry about losing his or her job
for the next 3 months if the employer has a random program using hair testing. Currently,
there is no instant hair testing product available.
Prescription
Drug Abuse
In 2011, for the first time ever, more people in the U.S.
died from prescription drug overdose than those in automobile accidents. The
drugs most often seen in these fatal overdoses are Hydrocodone and Oxycodone.
People erroneously believe that because they came from a doctor, these drugs
are safe. In fact the prescription versions of drugs have a higher purity level
and are more powerful than street drugs. This actually makes prescriptions more
dangerous than some drugs bought from a dealer off the streets. One hidden danger of abusing the popular pain
killer, Vicodin, is that it typically contains 5 milligrams of hydrocodone, but
325 milligrams of acetaminophen or Tylenol. Acetaminophen can damage an
individual’s liver when taken in large quantities. There is a plethora of data on
those who become addicted to hydrocodone, but die from liver damage.
The
Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988
On September 15, 1986, Ronald Reagan signed Executive
Order 12564 as premise for the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. The Federal
government took leadership in recognizing drug usage affected American
workplaces in Reagan’s opening line, stating, “Drug use is having serious
adverse effects upon a significant proportion of the national work force and
results in billions of dollars of lost productivity each year.” Since then, the U.S. Department of Labor has required
all federal contractors and grantees covered by the Drug-Free Workplace Act of
1988 to provide a drug-free workplace by taking the following steps:
1) Publish
and give a policy statement to all covered employees informing them that the
unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession or use of a
controlled substance is prohibited in the covered workplace, and specifying the
actions that will be taken against employees who violate the policy
2)
Establish
a drug-free awareness program to make employees aware of:
a) The dangers of
drug abuse in the workplace
b) The policy of maintaining
a drug-free workplace
c) Any available drug
counseling, rehabilitation and Employee Assistance Programs
d) The penalties that
may be imposed upon employees for drug-abuse violations
3)
Notify
employees that as a condition of employment on a Federal contract or grant, the
employee must:
a) Abide by the terms
of the policy statement
b) Notify the employer,
within five calendar days, if he or she is convicted of a criminal drug
violation in the workplace
4) Notify
the contracting agency within 10 days after receiving notice that a covered
employee has been convicted of a criminal drug violation in the workplace
5) Impose
a penalty on or require satisfactory participation in a drug-abuse assistance
or rehabilitation program by any employee who is convicted of a reportable
workplace drug conviction
6) Make
an ongoing, good faith effort to maintain a drug-free workplace by meeting the
requirements of the Act
Talk with one of our Drug Screening Experts and see what
programs will work for you!
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