Drug testing is a powerful tool for employees both during the hiring process and for monitoring existing employees. However, a common issue many managers and leadership teams run into is finding the right time to conduct drug and alcohol tests.
Performing drug testing too often can drive employees away from your business, and tests conducted during hiring could be timed too late, leading to wasted effort on a candidate who doesn’t meet your drug use policies.
Barada Associates has more than 40 years of experience facilitating drug testing for employers across the globe. Whether you want to test your staff or screen a potential new hire, we have the knowledge and experience to help you identify the most beneficial time to implement testing in your professional workplace.
Learn more about when you should conduct workplace drug testing programs below, and contact Barada Associates to schedule a consultation today.
What is a Drug Test for Employment?
Drug testing has a variety of applications. Besides workplace drug testing programs, a drug test is most often used in the medical field to help diagnose medical conditions or identify drug abuse and prescription drug misuse. In the professional workplace, drug testing helps shine a light on the abuse of illicit drugs, allowing employers to manage the health, safety, and success of their staff to a higher degree.
However, it’s important to note that the drug tests many professionals are familiar with are actually drug screenings.
While the terms drug test and drug screening are used interchangeably by the general public, a drug screening is a faster, cheaper, and more common test that screens a person’s urine, saliva, or hair for illicit drugs. On the other hand, a drug test is more expensive and time-consuming as it involves a deeper level of testing called mass spectrometry/gas chromatography (MS/GC) testing. This method involves sensitive testing of a blood, hair, or urine sample in a professional lab.
Throughout our blog, both terms will be used simultaneously, as both types of tests are beneficial to employers and can be implemented in hiring or on current team members.
How Often Do Companies Drug Test?
Employee drug testing is applicable and legal in many circumstances. Some employers prefer to test job applicants to ensure they only welcome new hires who fit their company standards, while others perform periodic drug screening to keep their workforce responsible.
Common circumstances for employee drug screening include:
Pre-Employment Screening
A pre-employment drug test can be the final step in your hiring process. Once you’ve identified your top candidate, ensure they meet your culture and value standards by conducting urine drug testing or another initial drug test for prescription drugs and other illicit substances.
Reasonable Suspicion of Substance Abuse
Unfortunately, there may come a time when you notice a member of your team is acting out of character or performing at lower levels than normal. If you suspect an employee may be struggling with a substance use disorder, we can help you perform a comprehensive drug screening.
If you receive a positive test result, you have the unique opportunity to provide much-needed support to your employees, including mental health services. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website has helpful drug testing resources and substance abuse information for employers confronting an employee about a positive drug test result.
Random Drug Testing
One of the most popular options in the U.S. is random, periodic testing is highly beneficial as it discourages employees from partaking in risky behavior outside of work, as well as increases your chances of identifying substance abuse within our staff. Random testing is not only legal but also a requirement in many professional industries.
Ultimately, there is no right or wrong choice. The team at Barada Associates can help you determine when urine drug tests, and other screening types, would be most beneficial to your company. We’re skilled at managing drug screenings throughout every step of the employment process, including the following additional scenarios:
- Post-accident
- Random drug tests
- Periodic scheduled testing
- An employee returns from a planned extended absence
- An employee returns from a probationary period
- Before a promotion
- Voluntary testing
The Importance of Professional Drug Testing
When you perform drug screening among your employees, especially in the case of a urine drug test, both false positive and negative drug test results can occur.
Diet, dehydration, medicines, and exercise are all external factors that can throw off the results from urine samples, leading an employee to test positive or negative when the opposite is true. Sometimes, the test simply needs to be redone with a new sample.
Any factors inhibiting testing or resulting in re-testing are costing your business valuable time and money, especially during hiring. At Barada Associates, we provide some of the fastest and most accurate drug and alcohol screening services in the industry.
We have the expertise to help prepare your staff for testing. For example, mistakes can be avoided by instructing employees not to drink too much water and to disclose prescription medications before testing.
Additionally, we can put our knowledge to work for you, helping your HR department put together a clear drug testing policy that covers all scenarios and outlines standards for how a positive test result will be addressed.
The Benefits of Drug Testing
Our team works with high-quality national laboratories to ensure the most accurate results possible in the smallest amount of time. The benefits of using our comprehensive employment drug screening services include:
- A more productive staff
- Decreased safety risks
- Deters drug use among staff
- A healthier staff
- Reduced risk of performance issues
Drug testing your employees goes beyond safeguarding your company. You’ll be doing your part in the war on substance abuse, making your entire community safer. Contact Barada Associates today.
Barada’s Proven Drug & Alcohol Testing Process
Barada Associates is proud to offer some of the most efficient, cost-effective drug and alcohol screenings in the industry.
Our professional process includes secure and confidential testing environments. We handle all chain of custody documents and can provide instant-read tests in applicable circumstances. Every drug test resulting in a positive is carefully reviewed and verified by a Medical Review Officer (MRO), a licensed medical doctor specially trained in drug testing.
We facilitate 5-panel and 10-panel urinalysis, hair testing, and Breathalyzer drug tests, which screen for the following substances:
- THC (Marijuana)
- Cocaine (Crack)
- Methamphetamine (Ecstasy)
- Amphetamine
- Opiates (Morphine)
- PCP
- Methadone
- Barbiturates
- Benzodiazepines
- Tricyclic Antidepressants
Contact Barada Associates Today
Since 1979 Barada Associates has been a front-runner for accurate, reliable drug and alcohol tests across the United States. We are eager to help you protect your business and the people in it, and we understand the complexities of a positive employee drug test and are prepared to set you up for success in such a scenario. When combined with our additional background screening services, drug testing is a powerful hiring and workplace standard practice.
Contact Barada Associates today to schedule your free consultation.