October 13th, 2010

The rules and regulations regarding employee drug testing vary in different countries.
Employers have become more concerned about the quality of employees and are putting more
emphasis on the selection process. For some employers, testing can provide important
information and cut the cost of hiring and training personnel. ² “Nearly 65% of resumes
submitted in 2007 contained false information according to The Risk Advisory Group (TRAG).”
¹ “Turnover is expensive and according to an annual survey done by the Employment
Management Association (EMA), hiring one hourly or production worker costs more than $880.
Also, hiring an office or secretarial worker can cost approximately $1668.” Drug testing is in the
ethical domain. Drug testing in Canadian organizations should allow pre-employment testing,
but only for service jobs which require the employees to deal with people and post-employment
testing should only be used when there is suspicion towards a particular employee. Canadian
organizations should approach this issue in this manner because of employer rights, possible
impact drug abuse has on other stakeholders, and because addiction is an expense for the
employer.

Any person who is working and is intoxicated can either harm themselves or other people
around them. It was the employee’s choice to do drugs so, if the employee injures/kills
themselves, the blood is on their hands, but if the employee hurts innocent citizens, then the
blood is on the employer’s hands. The employer is responsible for hiring its employees and the
employer has the rights to have the applicants who have been hired take a pre-employment drug
test. Anyone who is going to be providing a service to citizens should be required to take a pre-
employment drug test. Drug tests are expensive; roughly $60/test, but this is not an enormous
loss compared to the money lost in turnover. There is not a price on the potential lives that can be
lost from inebriated employees. It is vital for an employer to feel that the civilians will be in
good hands when encountering their employees and vice versa, a customer should feel safe
around an employee. Jobs that do not deal with contact with citizens should not allow pre-
employment testing because if the employee decides to do drugs, the employee is responsible for
their decision and every employee should be intelligent enough to make the right choice.

The stakeholder’s of a company would definitely be worried if the employees were

intoxicated while working. Drug abuse could negatively affect every stakeholder in a
corporation. An employee who is handling dangerous equipment or those who drive commercial
vehicles have a greater chance of accidents or inflicting injury upon themselves or others if the
employee is under the influence. If the employees were caught, the corporation would most
likely be sued for a large amount of money, which could drive them into bankruptcy. If the
company went bankrupt, the supplier would also lose demand in their goods/services. Also, if the
media got a hold of the story, then the reputation of that company would go down the drain.
Customer-service jobs should allow employers to drug test an employee before employment, and
also post employment if a particular employee shows signs of suspicion. Employers cannot take
the risk by putting the community at stake.

Drug addiction is very expensive for the employer. Insurance and health-related absences
provide two more reasons for implementing pre-employment drug testing. ³ “More than 175
million Americans are enrolled in workplace group health insurance; with an average of a 30%
increase in bonuses in the last three years…”. An employer can cut costs on bonuses and use that
money towards drug testing. Studies have linked short- and long-term health problems with drug
abuse. Drug abusers are more likely to develop respiratory problems and are generally more
vulnerable to illness. Employers often view drug abusers as irresponsible since many absences
can be predictable to the after-effects of drug usage. Employee absences cost employers millions
of dollars every year, and pre-employment drug testing can reduce these costs.

Canadian companies consider pre-employment drug testing to be unethical, but some

companies that still proceed with these tests, benefit from them. The companies can save a lot of
time, money and resources by spending a little more money before hiring a potential employee.
Pre-employment drug testing will reduce the turnover rate, and definitely save the employer a lot
of money in the long run. Canadian companies should ensue pre-employment drug testing with
front line jobs and proceed with post-employment drug testing only if there is suspicion towards
a particular employee.
 Works Cited

Comparison, By. "Fast Facts." National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part

of the U.S. Department of Education. Web. 13 Oct. 2010.

<http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28>.

"CV Lies - 75% Of Applicants Tell Resume and CV Lies - Should I?" How To Snag A Job - FREE

Expert Help with Interviews, Resumes, Job Applications, CVs And Much More. Web. 13

Oct. 2010. <http://www.job-application-and-interview-advice.com/cv-lies.html>.

"Drug Use Among Workers." OAS Home: Alcohol, Tobacco & Drug Abuse and Mental Health

Data from SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies. Web. 13 Oct. 2010.

<http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/work1996/ch7.htm>.