Employers struggling to fill jobs have begun to relax or eliminate drug testing requirements amid increased marijuana legalization and a tightening U.S. job market.
Las Vegas based Excellence Health Inc., for example, stopped testing employees for marijuana two years ago - and completely dropped drug tests in the beginning of 2018 for employees on the pharmaceutical side of the business.
In February, AutoNation Inc. - the largest auto dealer in the country, announced it would no longer refuse job applicants who tested positive for marijuana, while the Denver Post ended pre-employment drug testing last September for all positions that don't require safety precautions.
One respondent said that during a recent six-month attempt to add to staff for a new product, two-thirds of applicants for assembly line jobs were screened out before hiring via math tests and drug tests; of 400 workers hired, only 180 worked out.
"The benefits of at least reconsidering the drug policy on behalf of an employer would be pretty high," according to Mercer Law School professor Jeremy Kidd, who wrote a paper on the economics of workplace drug testing.
With drug tests costing employers between $30 and $50 each time, the value of maintaining a drug-free workplace has become less and less attractive tradeoff.
Employers have to weigh the financial costs of changing their rules surrounding drug tests - as discounts are often offered on workers' compensation insurance for companies which maintain "Drug free" workplaces.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-03-05/companies-eliminating-drug-tests-amid-job-shortages-pot-legalization
Las Vegas based Excellence Health Inc., for example, stopped testing employees for marijuana two years ago - and completely dropped drug tests in the beginning of 2018 for employees on the pharmaceutical side of the business.
In February, AutoNation Inc. - the largest auto dealer in the country, announced it would no longer refuse job applicants who tested positive for marijuana, while the Denver Post ended pre-employment drug testing last September for all positions that don't require safety precautions.
One respondent said that during a recent six-month attempt to add to staff for a new product, two-thirds of applicants for assembly line jobs were screened out before hiring via math tests and drug tests; of 400 workers hired, only 180 worked out.
"The benefits of at least reconsidering the drug policy on behalf of an employer would be pretty high," according to Mercer Law School professor Jeremy Kidd, who wrote a paper on the economics of workplace drug testing.
With drug tests costing employers between $30 and $50 each time, the value of maintaining a drug-free workplace has become less and less attractive tradeoff.
Employers have to weigh the financial costs of changing their rules surrounding drug tests - as discounts are often offered on workers' compensation insurance for companies which maintain "Drug free" workplaces.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-03-05/companies-eliminating-drug-tests-amid-job-shortages-pot-legalization
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