Volume IV
3rd Quarter 2004

A New Era In Drug Testing: Modern Methods Eliminate Short Cuts

By Nick Fishman

Many of us remember a time in our past, when taking a short cut to pass an important test, cheating, was easier than giving a solid effort. Often times, it worked. Therefore, it’s no wonder that there are many people in today’s workforce that take the same approach to Substance Abuse Screening. However, unlike a pop quiz, this is one test you just can’t cheat. Common attempts to mask drug tests include diluting the urine sample, ingesting a masking agent or using another person’s urine. These attempts are easily detected and tell-tale signs that a person might have a problem.

Substance abuse in the workplace is crippling businesses across the country. It costs US employers billions of dollars each year. According to the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, “Over 70% of all illicit drug users are employed. Small and medium-sized firms employ 80% of the U.S. workforce where drug testing policies & programs aren't in place. Absenteeism, increased health care costs and decreased productivity due to alcohol and other substance abuse cost your company $1,000 per employee per year.” Whether substance abuse leads to an increase in employee sick days or decrease in productivity, it is becoming a national epidemic. Even worse and often times more expensive for US businesses, is the escalation of incidents in the workplace where employees or customers are being harmed by incidents involving those under the influence of drugs and, or alcohol. In instances such as these, the employer is as much at fault as the employee and usually is held liable.

Given these facts, more and more businesses are looking to stack the odds in their favor when hiring employees and throughout the normal course of business. Substance Abuse screening is on the rise and as mentioned earlier, the opportunities to cheat the test are rapidly declining. For instance, urine temperature is taken at the time of collection. A specimen that was brought in would be colder than a specimen taken on site. Masking agents are easily identified because they leave behind easily detectable clues in the specimen. Lastly, diluted samples are also easy to spot because they have a lower concentration of bodily chemicals.

The most common form of testing is by collecting a urine sample. The urine is then tested for the most commonly used substances and results are usually made available within 72 hours. While testing a perspective employee before extending an offer is common, so too are tests that are randomly conducted throughout the year. Employers are also taking a proactive stance to workplace accidents by testing employees for substances at the time of the incident.

employeescreenIQ has recently partnered with North Carolina-based LabCorp, a national substance abuse screener with more than 1000 testing facilities throughout the country, to provide this vital service to our clients.