| The prominence of drug testing in the workplace is | | | | dying a slow death as more and more people realize |
| expanding throughout the country as more and more | | | | the importance of weeding out drug abusers from |
| companies employ drug tests to take a this critical | | | | the workplace. Drug testing in the workplace in some |
| step to ensure the safety and sanctity of the | | | | form is approved in most states of the US, but the |
| workplace. Optimally, keeping the workplace clear of | | | | practice is not properly regulated in most cases. The |
| drug users would ensure greater safety for the | | | | people who are subjected to drug testing in the |
| employees as a whole and increase the overall | | | | workplace do not necessarily give their consent, nor |
| productivity of the company, and cheap, easy and | | | | is it considered essential. The fact that a so called |
| accessible drug tests would make that happen. In | | | | official could walk in and order you to urinate in a vial |
| spite of all this optimism, it is to be noted that drug | | | | without a specified reason compounds the argument |
| testing in the workplace was never accepted by | | | | that this whole practice is a violation of personal |
| most communities as such in the beginning. | | | | privacy. |
| It is true that drug use by the employees would lead | | | | Although drug testing the employees was considered |
| to on-the-job accidents, absenteeism and employee | | | | impractical just a few months ago due to its high |
| theft and that recurrent drug testing in the | | | | costs, a new wave of practical and cheap drug tests |
| workplace could potentially discourage the use of | | | | flooding the market has caused a phenomenon of |
| drugs altogether. The major gripe of the employees | | | | sorts. It is not just current employees who are |
| was that it was not just the regular drug users and | | | | subjected to drug testing in the workplace; |
| addicts that were being targeted. Drug testing | | | | prospective employees and job applicants are also |
| proved a threat to the employment of people who | | | | put through a drug test before they start off on the |
| used recreational drugs occasionally. There were | | | | job. |
| fears of knee jerk dismissals of employees that | | | | Today the hundreds of laws that exist that govern |
| were highly productive and efficient for the simple | | | | the drug testing in the workplace, most only aid in |
| reason that they indulged themselves in a rave so | | | | furthering the confusion on what is acceptable and |
| long back that they could not even remember. Drug | | | | what is not. To add to the woes, most of these |
| testing was promoted as to being focused on | | | | laws do not help through the way they are stated to |
| counseling and rehabilitating the employees that were | | | | convince the employees who are on the receiving |
| detected, but people perceived it as a threat to their | | | | end of these laws. Still, the practice continually |
| employment prospects. | | | | evolves in its execution to encompass more and |
| Drug testing in the workplace was also being widely | | | | more employees bringing the dream of a drug free |
| characterized as a blatant violation of the privacy of | | | | workplace true - one employee at a time. |
| an individual. Today, these points of protests are | | | | |