Is it appropriate for employers to test staff for drugs or alcohol? How reliable are these results? Why should some one invade your privacy? Do drug testing determine your skills level for a job? What do drug testing in the work force prove? The arguments against drug testing are it is excessively invasive, may damage relations between employers and employees, and could hamper the recruitment and retention of good staff. In 1986 the Regan administration recommended a drug-testing program for employers. In 1991 The Omnibus Transportation Employee testing act of 1991 were passed. It required mandatory drug testing in trucking and other industries. Over the past 25 years drug testing in the military has increase. Today, approximately 62% of all employers in the US have mandatory drug testing program. Drug testing in the work force have been a very controversial topic ever since. Drug testing should not be in the workplace since it does not measure on the job impairment, do not prevent accidents and is an invasion of privacy.
There is no clear evidence that drug testing at work has a significant deterrent effect. Drug testing is not a measure of current intoxication and will reveal information about drug use that can have no impact on safety, productivity or performance. Drug testing is designed to detect and punish conduct that is usually engaged in off-duty and off the employer's premises - that is, in private. Employers who conduct random drug tests on workers who are not suspected of using drugs are policing private behavior that has no impact on job performance. Someone may test positive after taking a drug days, weeks or months before. People not generally required to organize their lives to maximize their productivity at work...
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The ethics of drug testing has become an increased concern for many companies in the recent years. More companies are beginning to use it and more people are starting more to have problems with it. The tests are now more than ever seen as a way to stop the problems of drug abuse in the workplace. This brings up a very large question. Is drug testing an ethical way to decide employee drug use? It is also very hard to decide if the test is an invasion of employee privacy. “The ethical status of workplace drug testing can be expressed as a question of competing interests, between the employer’s right to use testing to reduce drug related harms and maximize profits, over against the employee’s right to privacy, particularly with regard to drug use which occurs outside the workplace.” (Cranford 2) The rights of the employee have to be considered. The Supreme Court case, Griswold vs. Connecticut outlines the idea that every person is entitled to a privacy zone. However this definition covers privacy and protection from government. To work productively especially when the work may be physical it is nearly impossible to keep one’s privacy. The relationship between employer and employee is based on a contract. The employee provides work for the employer and in return he is paid. If the employee cannot provide services because of problems such as drug abuse, then he is violating the contract. Employers have the right to know many things about their employees.
...ult, and some times it does not give a result at all. It is unfair because it only targets certain workers; mainly low wage employees. It is unjust because people are automatically accused of using drugs, and that is why the drug test is given. Drug testing should not be abolished, but it should be a more controlled issue since it is something everyone in the US must go through.
...nything at all. If this were to happen, then there would be no point in the faculty that is under the influence being be paid when they’re being a bad influence on kids. Many other jobs drug test their employees. It should be like any other job.
While employment screening in the healthcare sector is decidedly standard, the law does often not require drug and alcohol testing. Substance abuse is one of the leading causes of disciplinary action against a nursing license in the U.S. Random drug screenings are used to detect the use of unapproved or illegal drugs for the purpose of upholding patient safety (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2006). The American Nurses Association (ANA) estimates that six to eight percent of nurses use alcohol or drugs to a degree that would impair professional judgment (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2011). Approximately one-third of the one percent of actively licensed nurses are disciplined each year for their substance misconduct (Kenward, 2008). Protecting patients from unsafe practices and personnel is the primary responsibility of each supervisory board of nursing. However, the fear of punishment from the board or termination keeps many nurses unwilling to come forward (Maher-Brisen 2007). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the viability of mandating random drug testing for nurses and other health professionals. The objective of this would be to address the rooted issues of substance abuse and decrease the risk of harm to patients under the healthcare provider’s care.
As much as 95% of employers favor urine testing as a method for drug testing, and this one piece of statistic may have positively affected the trend and demand for synthetic urine over the years.
The main focus for the federal governments revamping of drug screening to be able to better determine the timeframe in which the drugs were used and the accuracy of the test. Also, the idea of the new test is to deter workers from finding ways around testing positive and also to stop the inaccuracies of falsely discrediting workers. As they explain with "testing workers' hair, saliva and sweat, testers are able to draw more accurate conclusions which will lessen the false positives" (TAP, pg 2) this will enable the employer to decide if the drug usage did affect or cause the outcome of the negative actions. Hesitation from the federal government to put these tests in place is also derived from the idea that the alternative tests would provide the employers with unnecessary information as to the timeframe of consumption (TAP, pg 1) thus giving them the upper hand in taking and "cheating" the test. At this point, it is under review for how far a company can go with drug testing without infringing on workers privacy. Because testing urine for illegal substances for example can not differentiate between consumption of marijuana for same day usage or five days before an incident occurs.
One of the most common arguments in favor of drug testing in the workplace is to prevent occupational injuries and associated costs. There is also a concern with lost productivity due to impairment caused by illicit drug use while on the job. A study found that “the annual costs of these workplace injuries and illnesses...
Many people view drug testing in schools as a good aspect of our school systems. Schools require random drug testing for students in sports. These rates show that random drug testing lower illegal substance use. A pro for random drug testing, can be that it helps regulate the use of drugs in our teenagers. If a teenager happens to test positive, the school and parents can take immediate action to stop the problem before it progresses. They can refer the student to a counselor or if needed to a rehab center. If students know they can be randomly tested, they can see this as a sign to get help. Drug testing can make schools safer and also lower the rates of drug use in schools.
Drug test have been done in many sectors nowadays worldwide. It is being popular in the business sector where the employers do drug testing of the employees. Drug testing in the workplace is done to assist safety mainly. Some companies do drug testing in order to gain public trust. In many of the organization there is an policy, where a person have to take an pre-employment testing for the job. It helps to prevent hiring of individuals who uses illegal drugs. It also ensures, and informs both parties their rights, and responsibilities. Drug testing also ensures the employee to give a reasonable procedures in the workplace for reporting injury or illness. According to OHS Inc, national company with drug testing, drug
In my opinion, a company has the right demand or ask new employees to do a drug test before they start working, so they can make sure that everyone is safe. Now the utilitarian opinion considers that drug testing breaks the privacy of a person, but since it helps the company, the employees, the employee him or herself, then it is logical to ask for this kind of examination. For example, if a truck driver is going to work for a trucking company where he has to drive, then, of course, he has to do the required tests to make sure that everyone is protected and no one is in danger when he drives. We know that it is a requirement for all drivers by the state law to do their drug test and to have the results sent to the company and the driver, but
The first policy I would like to address is the drug free workplace policy. San Juan School District drug free workplace policy states that any person on school grounds, using school vehicles, fieldtrips, athletic events, and any school sponsored event can’t possess, use, distribute, dispense, or be under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Any such person means teachers, parents, students, administrators, and others during any school sponsored event.
The people for drug testing believe very strongly that it will help fix today's drug epidemic. Their main points are to say that random drug testing can prevent student drug abuse, while also stating how necessary they believe it is. According to John Walters, the nation’s drug czar who is in charge of fighting illicit drug use, “Drug testing is not a punishment, but a way to identify and treat young drug users” (“Student Drug Testing is Necessary”). Studies have showed that random drug
Many high schools across the country have brought much attention to the idea of giving random drug tests to students in high school. The newfound interest in student drug testing may be as a result of recent polls, which have shown an increase in drug use among high school students. Many teachers, parents, and members of school comities are for the drug testing, while most students and some parents feel that this would be a violation of students rights as Americans, which is true.
When employees get hired, they get a drug test due to the fact that the drug testing can prove if the person they are hiring is a good person for their business. For an example “Approximately eighty-one percent of companies in the United States administer drug testing to their employees.” Drug testing also proves that people who passes it are clean and responsible people who the company can trust on doing their job well done and showing overall percentage of the US using drug testing (Chodorow). People who cheat on a drug test and gets a job will later ruin their job of getting into accidents during working and or start a fight with the boss or coworkers unknowingly just because they were high on drugs. That is why companies strive to do drug tests every time they hire an employee now due to the fact that they don’t want to be reliable for an employee who isn’t responsible and trustworthy of their time at their company. Which it will affect the company financially once employees gets hurt on their job. An employee who is not a drug abuser can really benefit a company by not causing trouble for themselves getting hurt in the company and also the business not being reliable for anything that is caused by the employee; who was not responsible. Another example is that reports confirm that 80% of those injured in “serious drug related accidents are innocent coworkers.” And after it began requiring accidents drug
Mandatory drug tests have proven to help teenagers reduce the use of drugs and alcohol in their daily lives. If young people get used to it when they are young, it’s proven that they would have a difficult time trying to loss their addiction to the substance. Helps the person without any criminal chargers but with all the help needed. They even have different types of drug tests to show the time period of when the person might have taken a drug recently.