topic Re: Possible new employees can't pass a in Community Chat

Possible new employees can't pass a

Big Sister — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 23:39:24 GMT

The owner of a company that has large, heavy equipment can't find enough drug-free employees to hire. She said that many of their applicants did not pass a drug-free test.

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

deepwaterdotter — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 23:42:07 GMT

This is a common dilemma among employers in my town.

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

tansy — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 23:43:37 GMT

There's a long, long thread on this...

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

Kachina624 — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 23:47:25 GMT

@Big Sister wrote:
The owner of a company that has large, heavy equipment can't find enough drug-free employees to hire. She said that many of their applicants did not pass a drug-free test.

@Big Sister That's nothing new. This has been a problem for years and will only get worse as states legalize marijuana. The question becomes, do you eliminate someone for using a substance that's legal? You don't with alcohol. Why should you for marijuana?

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

RedTop — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 23:52:50 GMT

I live in southern WV, and the last 3 fast food restaurants that opened in town, took longer to open, due to not being able to find employees who could pass the drug test.

My trucker daughter is tested twice a year; teacher daughter is tested yearly.

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

Deanie — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 00:18:42 GMT

@Kachina624 Alcohol is quickly metabolized and cannabis is not. According to Federal DOT guidelines,It is not legal to drive a Class A vehicle 8 hours post ingestion of alcohol. Cannabis stays in your system for weeks.

I cant wait to see what the insurance companies are going to do with the legalization. They are already sounding the alarms in Colorado. There has been a rapid rise in accidents related to cannabis ingestion. Premiums rising, refusal to cover, requiring drug tests?

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

NJgirl 1205 — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 00:26:52 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@Big Sister wrote:
The owner of a company that has large, heavy equipment can't find enough drug-free employees to hire. She said that many of their applicants did not pass a drug-free test.
@Big Sister That's nothing new. This has been a problem for years and will only get worse as states legalize marijuana. The question becomes, do you eliminate someone for using a substance that's legal? You don't with alcohol. Why should you for marijuana?

My son was telling me that a colleague was showing up smelling of alcohol several times a week. He was fired. I think any employer should be able to fire any employee whose functions can be impaired with legal and/or illegal substances.

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

Q4u — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 00:30:50 GMT

Well, unfortunately with alcohol, it can become a huge factor in dismissing someone from their job. There were actually two people where I used to work that were fired because they came to work drunk. It started out as innocent social drinking (even at work functions), then they (independant of each other) drank more and more and eventually were drunk from the time they arrived each morning. I know for a fact that my boss tried to help each of them personally for quite some time (they worked for him), and his intervention didn't help.

Should they have been hired in the first place had they been tested? (there was no test at the time). Honestly, I don't know but I can attest to the lost man hours, the waste of productive time and the dropped projects because of these two, and my boss gave them a lot of time to try and recover before he let them go.

While smoking pot and drinking alcohol are different and I realize/respect and understand that... but even casually, either can ultimately affect the workload by placing an unfair workload on the other employees when/if it gets out of hand, as well as being a possible danger to himself (driving heavy equipment) or to others.

If I were the owner and responsible for the company, I sure would like a heads up prior to hiring. If the test came back positive, I'd question the applicant about it, etc. Casual use only? Maybe. This would be in no way a judgment call, but a business call. JMHO

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

software — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 00:33:16 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@Big Sister wrote:
The owner of a company that has large, heavy equipment can't find enough drug-free employees to hire. She said that many of their applicants did not pass a drug-free test.
@Big Sister That's nothing new. This has been a problem for years and will only get worse as states legalize marijuana. The question becomes, do you eliminate someone for using a substance that's legal? You don't with alcohol. Why should you for marijuana?

My employer will eliminate you for alcohol as well as legal or illegal drugs.

Depends on the drug, how much is in your system and if you have a script for it.

I passed the pre-employment and we get tested regularly. I have to blow into a breathalyzer and pee in a cup. If anything comes back positive more testing is done.

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

chrystaltree — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 00:40:10 GMT

Move the company... Substance abuse is a problem everywhere but no where near that level.

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

chrystaltree — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 00:44:27 GMT

With all the crime and social problems that go with drug use, those must be dangerous cities to live in.

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

september — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 00:47:32 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@Big Sister wrote:
The owner of a company that has large, heavy equipment can't find enough drug-free employees to hire. She said that many of their applicants did not pass a drug-free test.
@Big Sister That's nothing new. This has been a problem for years and will only get worse as states legalize marijuana. The question becomes, do you eliminate someone for using a substance that's legal? You don't with alcohol. Why should you for marijuana?

It's a problem for employers who live in a state where medical marijuana is legal, but we have contracts with the federal government and have to test our employees for this substance. It takes a while to get the results on new hires, and we've had to let some good people go, once we get the results.

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

software — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 00:52:43 GMT

@chrystaltree wrote:
With all the crime and social problems that go with drug use, those must be dangerous cities to live in.

Only when they are operating heavy equipment

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

chrystaltree — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 01:13:24 GMT

@software wrote:
@chrystaltree wrote:
With all the crime and social problems that go with drug use, those must be dangerous cities to live in.

Only when they are operating heavy equipment

Substance abuse doesn't work like that....LOL It wouldn't be the problem it is if it only affected one's ability to operate heavy equipment. It goes hand and hand with burglaries, assaults, divorce, child abuse.

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

QueenDanceALot — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 01:37:05 GMT

@chrystaltree wrote:
@software wrote:
@chrystaltree wrote:
With all the crime and social problems that go with drug use, those must be dangerous cities to live in.

Only when they are operating heavy equipment

Substance abuse doesn't work like that....LOL It wouldn't be the problem it is if it only affected one's ability to operate heavy equipment. It goes hand and hand with burglaries, assaults, divorce, child abuse.

It's a problem for hiring people who operate potentially dangerous equipment. I think that was the point. And the reason for the thread.

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

september — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 02:21:53 GMT

Not all people who test positive for marijuana are heavy users. Some use it occasionally, as some people might use wine! And many of them who can't get jobs, aren't looking to operate dangerous equipment.

They're applying for jobs in the hospitality industry...like managing restaurants or hotels on federal property (national parks).

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

QueenDanceALot — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 02:27:14 GMT

@september wrote:
Not all people who test positive for marijuana are heavy users. Some use it occasionally, as some people might use wine! And many of them who can't get jobs, aren't looking to operate dangerous equipment.

They're applying for jobs in the hospitality industry...like managing restaurants or hotels on federal property (national parks).

The business owner interviewed was talking about her company having difficulty and she talked specifically about not being able to hire drug free individuals to operate heavy and potentially dangerous equipment.

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

Foolywooly11 — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 02:32:49 GMT

Now that "fake urine" can be purchased in stores, I wonder how any pre-employment drug test will be helpful in determining who's on drugs, or not!

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

Kachina624 — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 02:36:30 GMT

@software wrote:
@Kachina624 wrote:
@Big Sister wrote:
The owner of a company that has large, heavy equipment can't find enough drug-free employees to hire. She said that many of their applicants did not pass a drug-free test.
@Big Sister That's nothing new. This has been a problem for years and will only get worse as states legalize marijuana. The question becomes, do you eliminate someone for using a substance that's legal? You don't with alcohol. Why should you for marijuana?

My employer will eliminate you for alcohol as well as legal or illegal drugs.
Depends on the drug, how much is in your system and if you have a script for it.
I passed the pre-employment and we get tested regularly. I have to blow into a breathalyzer and pee in a cup. If anything comes back positive more testing is done.

@software The trouble is, alcohol quickly leaves your system and can't be detected when the applicant is tested the next day. Marijuana, of course, sticks around longer.

Re: Possible new employees can't pass a

september — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 03:23:02 GMT

@QueenDanceALot wrote:
@september wrote:
Not all people who test positive for marijuana are heavy users. Some use it occasionally, as some people might use wine! And many of them who can't get jobs, aren't looking to operate dangerous equipment.

They're applying for jobs in the hospitality industry...like managing restaurants or hotels on federal property (national parks).
The business owner interviewed was talking about her company having difficulty and she talked specifically about not being able to hire drug free individuals to operate heavy and potentially dangerous equipment.

I understood what happened in this case. I was just adding to the conversation Some of us, who hire employees who aren't going to be operating machinery, face the same diffuculties in finding good people, due to these tests.