This whole thing about drug testing at work is insanity isn't it?

Whenever I hear about how in the US you guys get tested at work for drugs... I just can't believe it

We don't have it here in the UK, but man... honestly, I can't even say how p*ssed off I would be if my employer even SUGGESTED it! I would sue and start legal battles so damn fast his head would spin!

Luckily though in this country it just isn't done.

How do you guys put up with it?

Also, sorry if this is in the wrong section, and sorry if I'm acting a bit annoyed... this is a bit of a pet peeve for me!

 

As Long As You Do Your Job Well, What Does It Matter

What You Do In Your Free Time....???



Cheers Glen.

 

I think it's just a privacy thing. I just can't believe that some people think it's ok for employers to check their employee's urine!

 

I own my own business so I don't have drug testing but I know they do random drug tests at my husbands job and we know people who have been fired for the results. It's a double edged sword in my opinion.

On one hand I understand it. Where my husband works you could be seriously injured on the job if you were under the influence. They are only covering their own ass. Also if you get hurt you are required to do a drug test to make sure you are not under the influence. I understand it.

On the other hand I don't think what someone does on their day off is anybody's business. If someone wants to smoke some pot when they aren't at work I don't see what the problem is. The bad thing is if you smoke pot in Saturday but are completely sober on Monday but have to do a drug test it will come back dirty and you are automatically fired. I don't think that is fair.

It's not really anything we have to worry about as my husband and I neither one do drugs of any kind but it sucks for the person that gets fired for what they do on their own time.

 

some people are just dangerous to work with when they are stoned

 

lots of interesting points. I totally agree that the time between the drug and the test you stated still resulting in a bad test makes it worse.

I just... I think it's awful. It's just such an invasion of privacy.

I can't believe that it went through. I hope it never goes through here


EDIT -- and lol if they do, I'll just sit on benefits and not work until they change the law xD

or be self-employed of course

 

Oh look at this. I'm sure there are loads of ways to do it actually:

http://www.wikihow.com/Pass-a-Urine-Drug-Test

I mean, I do understand it for jobs where it is absolutely critical that you are not under the influence of a drug whilst actually on the job itself (such as say a surgeon or a pilot) as long as that didn't include drugs that you will now be sober again from.

 

The people we know that have been fired were not under the influence at work. It was something they had done on their own time. I know a bunch of people within the company tried to fight for them so they wouldn't be fired but rules are rules and they are the same for everyone. I guess it's the chance you take.

 

Yes but some rules are against the law. And I think for all but a small group of jobs, this should be illegal.

For example, if an employer said that any employee that didn't meet a quota would be shot, and it was specified and written in the rules that everyone agreed to and signed when they started the job, is that ok too?

Some things are simply covered by law, and the employer's rules make no difference.

 

I can understand the reasoning for pre-screening drug testing in theory. Companies want a potential canidate which will show dedication and focus on their job and the companies goals. Many companies have a no drug policy, a) because they are illegal and b) they probably don't feel employees would perform most efficiently under the influence. C) They probably feel that if one can't hold out long enough to pass the drug test they don't care about the job, not saying that's necessarily the case but trying to look at it from an employers perspective.

In practice however it's kind of different, because let's say we hypothetically have 2 users, a pot smoker and a crystal METH user whose last use was 2 weeks prior to their urine test. The pot user will potentially fail the test while the Crystal METH user won't, most of society however would view pot as relatively benign to Crystal METH, so the tests are flawed in that sense.


...feel like I'm missing some points I wanted to touch on but I'm on the phone right now and more difficult to type.

 

Do you understand that doing drugs is against the law? So if you are technically committing a crime and your employer has in their handbook that they have 0 tolerance for such activity and you agree to that when you start your job there really isn't anything you can do about it.

Are you really going to take a company to court for firing you for doing something illegal?

Firing someone for "criminal activity" isn't really the same as shooting someone for not reaching a quota.

Do I care if someone partakes in recreational drug use on there day off? Not as long as they are safe about it and it doesn't affect me. Do I think they have a right to fight it if they get fired for a dirty drug test? Not really. You know the chance you are taking. I guess it's all a matter of priorities. What is more important? Using drugs or paying your bills?

I understand what you are saying about it being an invasion of privacy but until certain things are made legal there really isn't much you can do about it.

 

But... whether they're testing for crystal meth or Oreos is besides the point... it's the urine testing itself that I have a problem with!

I think it's an invasion of privacy. It's not to do with the legality of what they're testing for.

 

oh... do they have to give you lots of warning before the tests then? If so then that's at least a little bit better. At least it shows a bit of respect for the employee!

 

What Guerilla said, The tests are inadvertently biased towards catching casual pot smokers.
In many cases it's the insurance company that pushes a business to test. If you are injured in any way testing is madatory.

I worked for a company where this happened and the floor supervisor told the owners, if they implemented testing they would lose all of their top precision machinists (they all smoked pot everyday, very often on shift)
They ended up deciding not to test and just 'pencil-whipped' the papers for the insurance company, heh heh

 

So let me get this straight...you don't have a problem with them testing for drugs but you have issues with the fact that they want your pee? Am I understanding that right? They don't give you any warning. I think they give you 24 hours. There's not a lot you can do in that amount of time. If it's in your system it's in your system.

 

All of the jobs that I've applied for ask on the application if you are willing to take a drug test, then usually if hired which may take a week or more from filling out a application, they make you take the drug test by the following day.

I've not been with a company that randomly tests really but I'm pretty sure you have to be tested if you are injured on the job too.

 

wow.. that's all pretty crazy O.O

Pretty funny about that company Gongshaman

And yeah, it's an employer actually checking an employee's urine that I find creepy and invasive.

I don't care what they're checking for lol

Oh, it reminds me of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n34eeXWjUQ"]Doug Stanhope - This Generation Sucks - YouTube

xD

 

I'm sure they would be willing to do a blood test if you rather give blood rather than urine. I think it's kind of funny that your main issue is the fact that they want your urine.

 

Blood is just as bad.

Do you really not find it invasive and creepy?

 

What do you think they are going to do with your urine? Use it to clone you or some crazy science experiment shit? Nobody wants to play with someone's pee. They are just doing a job and its not like it's your boss that takes the cup of pee anyway. They make you go somewhere else usually like a clinic or Dr office.