Pre-employment Drug Testing Can Prevent Injuries And Theft

 

Pre-employment drug testing – 4                                                                                          WC Blog 510
Drug Screening -3
Pre-employment Drug Testing Can Prevent Injuries And Theft
     Do you require pre-employment drug testing or random screening in your place of business? You may not think of it as a concern or a potential liability for you or your business but Bill Bregar and his staff of experts at Loss Prevention Systems Inc. would like to have you reconsider that. You may want to rethink your position after reading the headlines and excerpts below:
• Worker Killed at Granite Steel had meth in system; mill fined $12,000
• http://www.oregonlive.com/watchdog/index.ssf/2017/12/childcare_in_oregon_state_webs.html “Childcare unaware: Oregon website omits key safety info for parents”, by Brad Schmidt, Dec 27. The article reports, “State officials don’t always notify families when taking steps to close a day care. In one case regulators tried to shut down an in-home facility after the owner admitted to illegal drug use, documents reveal. But kids kept attending this facility this year because state officials never told parents it was no longer licensed.”
• “Amtrak workers killed in crash and train engineer all tested positive for drugs”, The Washington Post, by Ashley Halsey III, Oct 11. “Two Amtrak workers had opioids or cocaine in their systems when they were struck and killed south of Philadelphia last year by a passenger train whose engineer had marijuana in his system, according to federal officials. 
These are just three stories but there are so many more out there. You may think that substance abuse is a personal matter but when it enters the workplace it affects others. What are the ramifications on your business should an employee with drugs in their system have an accident involving themselves, co-workers or your customers? Pre-employment drug testing is one way you can minimize the chances of this taking place in your establishment.
     Pre-employment drug testing is usually done through the collection of a urine sample, however oral fluid testing and even hair sample testing have been used by employers. According to one web site, “Urine testing is the only method approved for federally-mandated testing…It’s also cost-effective, typically able to screen for a wider variety of illicit and prescription drugs…”  Whatever the means used to collect the sample, the purpose is to identify if a candidate for a position uses drugs and if so the employer can screen that applicant out of the hiring process. The same website did mention that one drawback to using only pre-employment drug testing is that, “drug using candidates who were able to suspend their use long enough to pass the drug test can restart their use undetected.” Therefore it is a good idea for a company to also have other testing means for employees such as random drug tests (questdiagnostics.com). 
     Some of you may still be a bit skeptical of the need for drug screening because you only operate a retail store and you don’t have employees operating heavy equipment or walking on railroad tracks as part of their job duties. Here are two more stories that may be more relevant to you:
• “A Wingo KY Mart employee was arrested for allegedly stealing from the store…The owner said his employee stole approximately $700 cash out of a deposit bag along with some checks…The deputy also found methamphetamine in her purse.” WPSD Local 6, by Kryste Callais, December 8, 2017 “Wingo KY Mart Employee Arrested On Theft Charge http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/2017/12/08/wingo-ky-mart-employee-arrested-theft-charge/
• “Giant Eagle faces felony theft charge” The Cranberry Eagle, November 30, 2017, “He is accused of trying to take $4,400 in merchandise including vitamins, medicine, beer steins and water filters. Police said they found an empty stamp bag of suspected heroin, a hypodermic needle and a spoon with suspected drug residue on it.”  http://www.thecranberryeagle.com/article/20171130/NEWS20/171139987/0/about_us
You get my point. If you aren’t conducting drug testing prior to hiring a candidate you may be asking for trouble in the future. The problem cuts across all job sectors, including retail.
     Employee drug screening isn’t about trying to keep people with a problem from getting work. It’s about YOU keeping your store profitable and your employees and customers safe. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. can help you do both. Your staff and customers will appreciate your efforts.
For more information about pre-employment drug testing contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Do you require pre-employment drug testing or random screening in your place of business? You may not think of it as a concern or a potential liability for you or your business but Bill Bregar and his staff of experts at Loss Prevention Systems Inc. would like to have you reconsider that. You may want to rethink your position after reading the headlines and excerpts below:

• Worker Killed at Granite Steel had meth in system; mill fined $12,000

•http://www.oregonlive.com/watchdog/index.ssf/2017/12/childcare_in_oregon_state_webs.html “Childcare unaware: Oregon website omits key safety info for parents”, by Brad Schmidt, Dec 27. The article reports, “State officials don’t always notify families when taking steps to close a day care. In one case regulators tried to shut down an in-home facility after the owner admitted to illegal drug use, documents reveal. But kids kept attending this facility this year because state officials never told parents it was no longer licensed.”

• “Amtrak workers killed in crash and train engineer all tested positive for drugs”, The Washington Post, by Ashley Halsey III, Oct 11. “Two Amtrak workers had opioids or cocaine in their systems when they were struck and killed south of Philadelphia last year by a passenger train whose engineer had marijuana in his system, according to federal officials. 

These are just three stories but there are so many more out there. You may think that substance abuse is a personal matter but when it enters the workplace it affects others. What are the ramifications on your business should an employee with drugs in their system have an accident involving themselves, co-workers or your customers? Pre-employment drug testing is one way you can minimize the chances of this taking place in your establishment.

Pre-employment drug testing is usually done through the collection of a urine sample, however oral fluid testing and even hair sample testing have been used by employers. According to one web site, “Urine testing is the only method approved for federally-mandated testing…It’s also cost-effective, typically able to screen for a wider variety of illicit and prescription drugs…”  Whatever the means used to collect the sample, the purpose is to identify if a candidate for a position uses drugs and if so the employer can screen that applicant out of the hiring process. The same website did mention that one drawback to using only pre-employment drug testing is that, “drug using candidates who were able to suspend their use long enough to pass the drug test can restart their use undetected.” Therefore it is a good idea for a company to also have other testing means for employees such as random drug tests (questdiagnostics.com). 

Some of you may still be a bit skeptical of the need for drug screening because you only operate a retail store and you don’t have employees operating heavy equipment or walking on railroad tracks as part of their job duties. Here are two more stories that may be more relevant to you:

• “A Wingo KY Mart employee was arrested for allegedly stealing from the store…The owner said his employee stole approximately $700 cash out of a deposit bag along with some checks…The deputy also found methamphetamine in her purse.” WPSD Local 6, by Kryste Callais, December 8, 2017 “Wingo KY Mart Employee Arrested On Theft Charge http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/2017/12/08/wingo-ky-mart-employee-arrested-theft-charge/

• “Giant Eagle faces felony theft charge” The Cranberry Eagle, November 30, 2017, “He is accused of trying to take $4,400 in merchandise including vitamins, medicine, beer steins and water filters. Police said they found an empty stamp bag of suspected heroin, a hypodermic needle and a spoon with suspected drug residue on it.”  http://www.thecranberryeagle.com/article/20171130/NEWS20/171139987/0/about_us

You get my point. If you aren’t conducting drug testing prior to hiring a candidate you may be asking for trouble in the future. The problem cuts across all job sectors, including retail.

Employee drug screening isn’t about trying to keep people with a problem from getting work. It’s about YOU keeping your store profitable and your employees and customers safe. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. can help you do both. Your staff and customers will appreciate your efforts.

 

For more information about pre-employment drug testing contact us or call 1.770.426.0547