Pre-Employment Drug Test

What is a Pre-Employment Drug Test?

A Pre-Employment Drug Test is a routine part of the hiring process in which applicants are screened for illicit substances or prescription medication abuse. A pre-employment drug test is usually requested by a potential employer prior to being hired or as a contingency to a job offer.

Is it legal to require a Pre-Employment Drug Test?

The laws/rules of drug testing vary from state to state. A company should consult their local laws surrounding drug testing before requiring it of their applicants/new hires.

There are some general guidelines, which include the following:

• The applicant must know ahead of time that a pre-employment drug test is part of the new employee/new hire screening process.
• Job Seekers applying for the same job must undergo the same type of drug test, reducing any appearance of discrimination
• Drug tests must be administered at a state-certified lab.

Why would a company require a Pre-Employment Drug Test?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA):

• Drug use may represent as much as a five-fold increase in workplace injury claims
• Up to 50 percent of all workers' compensation claims are related to workplace substance abuse
• Substance impairments may lead to 3.5 times more accidents
• Substance abuse can increase by 2.5 times the likelihood of an employee missing eight or more workdays annually
• Substance abuse may contribute to productivity being 33 percent lower than it would be otherwise

If workplace safety and employee safety are a big concern for you, it would be wise to require Pre-Employment Drug Tests. If you want to ensure that you have employees that are as present and productive as possible, it would be wise to require Pre-Employment Drug Tests.

How can I make Pre-Employment Drug tests a part of my hiring process?

ApplicantPro makes pre-employment drug testing easy! To learn more about Pre-employment Drug Testing and other ways to verify your top pick is who they say they are, visit our Background Checks page.