Drug Testing Laws:Workplace Drug Screening - Essay Example

Workplace Drug Screening Drug misuse and alcoholism are considered to be main donors to the problem for hiring an employee, which can affect into increased training expenses, reduced efficiency, increased workplace blunders, accidents, fatalities and probably costly court proceedings. In 1990's, a household analysis stated that, some 68 percent of illegal drug addicts were gainfully employed. In 1987, the President Ronald Reagan issued an Executive Order that all Federal Agencies should be drug-free. However, the Drug-Free Workplace Act was approved by the parliament in 1988. It directs that Federal grantees and Federal service providers shall, following forbidden strategy, look forward to set up a drug-free workplace. (Randall G. Kesselring & Jeffrey R. Pittman). Disturbed with the economic expenses of drug use, many employers, following the lead of the military and the Federal organization, have established drug screening. There are numerous types drug screens offered. The urine screen permits the detection of drugs but can just settle on that an employee has used a specified substance, currently or in the past. It is not perfect enough to conclude destruction or whether the employee was under the pressure of a given material at the time of the test. Therefore, leisure or very infrequent drug users could be distinguished, although they don't use it while they are at work. Urine tests are not used for detecting alcohol. Even though suitable for alcohol, since alcohol is rapidly excreted from the body, the urine tests are not helpful for long period of time after ingestion. Blood tests are measured as more persistent than urine screens. Significantly, however, blood tests calculates the quantity of alcohol, including other tested drugs, present at the time of the test and, using well-known standards, in official procedures to give proof as to whether or not the employee was under the influence. Nowadays, blood tests are mainly kept for alcohol related problems. Nevertheless, saliva and hair tests may shortly enter the work place as less intrusive methods of identifying drug use. The legality and reliability of these processes has not as yet been recognized to a degree sufficient to permit their customary use in the workplace. Only for alcohol, not other drugs detection, the use of a breath-alcohol process is becoming a typical practice. It can identify blood alcohol level, providing an estimation of present mutilation. There are several types of drug screening programs such as "Analytical Drug Tests." The test classify whether an entity has taken or been exposed to drugs are carried out by the study of a biological specimen. Some drug tests are obtainable for use in an on-the-spot format and can distinguish one or more drugs at the same time, whilst other tests are carried out with laboratory based examination. The kind of test chosen for use might also depend on the biological sample that will be used for the study. On-the-spot tests are used as a testing device. Drug tests that are of a typical admissible as proof, have to date been based on laboratory examination. However, there are three basic forms of workplace drug testing. Pre-employment screenings Pre-employment screening programs are used most widely. Some of them also necessitate drug testing of present employees who desire to shift to more responsive positions. Testing is generally done with the employee's full former knowledge. Pre-employment screening is used to validate the accuracy of an employee's alleges in addition to find out any probable criminal history, workers reimbursement alleges or employer sanctions. There are a lot of corporations that offer pre-employment screening services. Pre-employment screening is the procedure of using psychometric testing, background checks and drug testing to verify the background and identity of employing a new employee. Background checking is a well-liked process of pre-employment screening. Random testing Random drug testing is used by a rising number of companies, drug rehab centers, jails, military services, police and fire departments, government organizations and more lately, in schools as well. This process may also be used on adolescence by their parents or authorized to be executed at school. The purpose of a random drug test is avoidance, as the risk of detection is much higher against other testing techniques. A variety of random selection processes are used varies from drawing names out of a hat to using random figure producers. The random selection methodology is frequently legally disputed because it is hard to prove that an entity was not targeted. Post-incident drug testing Post-incident drug testing is not a very commonly overseen test in contrast to the other two, but the financial consequences of not testing employees after an incident on the job makes this test valuable for nearly all companies. The point of this test is not essentially to cause the employee to drop his or her job, but somewhat to defend the company from accountability in the event that the entity is under the influence at the time of the incident. If drugs or alcohol are identified in any important quantity, the dispute can be made in court that the person was intoxicated on the job, and on that ground, the business should not be held legally responsible for damages persistent by the employee. Although, all drug-testing programs have raised a number of lawful issues. The American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs (1987) and Montagne and associates (1988) talks about the legal hypothesis applied to particular challenges of drug-testing programs that influence both public and private employees. The most common dispute against drug testing refers to the defense of the entity by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Fourth Amendment assures the right of people to be protected in their houses, papers, and consequences against irrational searches and arrests. The Fifth Amendment defends people against self-incrimination. While most authorities agree that forcing an employee to submit a urine test does represent a search under the Fourth Amendment, the main argument is, whether drug testing signifies an unreasonable search or not. The courts must balance the amount to which the investigation is an intrusion ahead the individual's Fourth Amendment right and the level to which the search imitates a lawful government interest. It has also been disputed that drug testing is a violation of an entity's right to privacy. Though there is no specific lawful provision assuring such a right, it may be inferred from numerous provisions, taken mutually with the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. The right to privacy normally refers to an entity's self interest in avoiding the disclosure of personal information and defending his or her independence in making certain types of personal choices. (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2004). Bibliography Randall G. Kesselring & Jeffrey R. Pittman. Drug Testing Laws and Employment Injuries. (pp. 293, 300) Arkansas State University Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, (2004). Drug Tests. Retrieved April 5, 2008 from http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/POSTpn228.pdf Drugs Modern Society Nowadays, the main stress is commonly found on the usage of drugs, misusing and abusing psychoactive drugs. However, many prevention activities are undertaken to avoid or reduce such problems. The major problem today is alcohol and tobacco which is used most commonly in the United States. Such activities are commonly found mostly every where in the society such as schools, workplace even in families. From time to time, a harmonized national endeavor namely so called war on drugs or in other words the National Drug Control Strategy is affirmed or rehabilitated by the president. Such a war or policy has a lot of measurements. Although, the U.S. Congress passes strict anti drug laws, pressurize or suspends foreign help to drug generating states and cuts off the prevention programs which are thought to be very costly, unproductive or not punitive enough. Conversely, the U.S. military service, businesses and industries, carries on with the programs of drug screening to prevent drug use. There is a constant concern because of the extensive use of both legal and illegal psychoactive about preventing or reducing the disastrous outcomes and rising expenses linked with the use, misuse and abuse of such drugs. Drug related troubles is also due to rising curiosity in health promotion and the increasing knowledge that alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse frequently results in severe problems for family life, school recital and worker effectiveness. In spite of billions of dollars spent and more than a million seized cases each year, the war on drugs has curved into a war on drug abusers, drug-related aggression, misdemeanor, ill health, social stress and negotiated civil authorizations have augmented. However, drug abuse was not considered to be a main problem in the United States until the youth rebellion of the 1960's. When teenagers and young adults unexpectedly implemented a broad variety of unusual behaviors, together with the recreational use of illegal psychoactive substances. Currently, successful programs of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse prevention unite a range of activities that imitate the general strategies including supply reduction strategy, demand reduction strategy and inoculation strategy. Despite of the strategies mentioned above, drug testing has become one of the most effectual procedures in encouraging a drug free workplace in America. In federal agencies, the discovery of drug use and abuse from random screening of urine sample is necessary for particular employees. To decrease the usage of alcohol and other drug abuse on the job, the American business community, in agreement with the Comprehensive Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988, has developed a range of countermeasures to inferior the huge costs linked with drug harmed worker performance. However, parents or families and society as a whole are often affected the most by drug and alcohol troubles in the society. Though, they are habitually the most devoted anti drug abuse campaigners on the ordinary level. Parents or families can use few methods such as setting up parent action groups that work with the country and local supervisions, schools, law enforcement organizations and businesses to control social strategies regarding alcohol and drug use or training service contributors and updating others about the proper use of medicines and efficient communication abilities with physicians and pharmacists. There are three levels to prevent the reoccurrence of such a condition identified as primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. The first or primary prevention level of intervention pertains to behavior begun before drug abuse takes place. Primary prevention occurs before the fact and stops an individual from becoming diseased or harmed in the first place. The secondary prevention levels of intervention are those prevention behavior transmits during the early phase of drug abuse. Secondary prevention tries to restore to health those who have been drug abusers and therefore decreases the number of obtainable drug problem cases. As the third level of prevention, tertiary intervention is begins during the later or complex stages of drug abuse. The third level is used to avoid the deterioration of recovering drug abusers and to uphold their health position after treatment. Apart from workplace and parenting role, today, schools are also playing an important role in the society for preventing drug abuse. For example, school-based programs are established to prevent alcohol and drug abuse which consists of more than information conferences to discourage the use of psychoactive drugs. Some effectual school strategies consist of the following: Adopting and implementing fair and clear school strategies regarding use and control of drugs and alcohol together on and off school property and presenting school team training for teachers, administrators, support staff and other involved community people who can then employ the action plans in schools that will perk up the school's affecting climate and address alcohol and other drug related problems. (University of Phoenix). Bibliography University of Phoenix. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Prevention Education. (pp. 354, 368). University of Phoenix. Drug-Abuse Prevention. (pp. 319, 352). Read More