Drug testing of employees began in 1988, under the Drug-free Workplace Act, that made it mandatory for certain Department of Transportation positions and to other jobs that require an employee to drive a vehicle of some sort. The amount of private companies that require drug testing of their employees has risen, with over four million employees being tested each year. Since the inception of drug testing, there have been many controversies on the legality and accuracy of these tests. With many online companies offering ways to cheat the tests, drug testing facilities have had to come with new ways to test employees. Many unions have challenged the right of companies to be able to drug test, claiming that it is violation of the fourth amendment, concerning illegal search and seizures. The question that should be asked, concerning the legality of drug tests, is the safety of the customers and other employees that are not using drugs. It is important to remember the importance of having a strong drug testing policy, in order to avoid the problems of drug testing.
The opponents of drug testing facilities have protested the use of drug-testing, claiming that as mentioned above, it violates the fourth amendment, the tests may be inaccurate, a positive test does not implicate that the individual is not impaired due to the drugs, there is potential abuse against the employee by the employer if the test comes up positive, and that employers do not enforce the policy uniformly. There have been many lawsuits challenging the result of drug tests. Choosing the right drug-testing program is key, in order to protect the company from lawsuits and the rights of its employees.
The first major aspect to consider when having a drug-testing program is the method that employees will be tested. The most common test and probably the easiest to cheat is the urinalysis. This tests consists of an employee being directed to a medical facility and giving a sample of their urine,...