Regulation of Employee Drug Testing

Regulation of Employee Drug Testing

Introduction

The purpose of drug testing is to ensure that the workplace is drug free. Drug testing refers to the biological specimen test that is taken in the form of blood, urine, sweat, hair or saliva of the prospective employee and checking the presence of certain drugs that can enhance the performance of the person in question. These drugs are steroids that aid the person to perform better than his normal capacity. The employee drug testing regulation differs among states. In some states, it is considered mandatory while in the others is even limited or prohibited (Morris, 2003). The mandatory requirement is controversial. This drug testing has certain ethical issues associated with them. The paper discusses whether or not the drug testing by employers should be regulated or not.

Ethical issues of drug testing

This is an ethical issue in that it is something to do with a person's privacy. HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and restricts the sharing of personal property to another person other than the employees. Many breach of confidentiality have been observed as a result of this. A breach of confidentiality refers to disclosure of information to a third party without the consent of the patient himself or without the court order. This is the information that the medical practitioner has learnt about the patient as a consequence of patient and physician relationship. This disclosure can be on the record or off the record.

This has led to many ethical issues. For instance, if a person took drugs after the office hours then it may affect the person's performance during office but he took the drugs in his own free and outside the premises of the workplace. Hence, he says that he is justified to take the substance.

To this the employers argue that taking drugs should be prohibited even after the office hours as it is something that affects the performance of the employee. It would be unfair if two employees on the same post but delivering very different level of productivity should be getting the same salary. The office hours are paid for by the employer (Hanly, 2000).

Another ethical issue involved in drug testing is the misuse of information obtained by the employer. Through the drug test information can lead to an unwarranted loss of jobs. The drug test can reveal results that are unrelated to the performance of the employee on the job but just because something negative appears in the test, it brings in a sense of biasness in the minds of the employer. The employer then judges his performance based on what he learns from the test.

Regulation of drug testing

On the federal level, the drug testing is regulated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). All tests have to be evaluated by Medical Review Officer (MRO). To begin with, drug testing is essential because it helps the employer provide its valued human resource a safe and healthy ...