https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/24/business/economy/drug-test-labor-hiring.html?ribbon-ad-idx=11&rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version=origin®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Home Page&pgtype=article YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Just a few miles from where President Trump will address his blue-collar base here Tuesday night, exactly the kind of middle-class factory jobs he has vowed to bring back from overseas are going begging. It’s not that local workers lack the skills for these positions, many of which do not even require a high school diploma but pay $15 to $25 an hour and offer full benefits. Rather, the problem is that too many applicants — nearly half, in some cases — fail a drug test. The fallout is not limited to the workers or their immediate families. Each quarter, Columbiana Boiler, a local company, forgoes roughly $200,000 worth of orders for its galvanized containers and kettles because of the manpower shortage, it says, with foreign rivals picking up the slack. “Our main competitor in Germany can get things done more quickly because they have a better labor pool,” said Michael J. Sherwin, chief executive of the 123-year-old manufacturer. “We are always looking for people and have standard ads at all times, but at least 25 percent fail the drug tests.”
I see a white male 40ish with a sign, will work for food, while driving to work. He stands in front of a Wendys with a sign advertising We're Hiring. I often thought that guy couldn't pass the drug test. Does a fast food place need a drug test? There might be equipment I suppose they could hurt themselves on if they come to work high, like the fry cooker or something, if they bother showing up for work. I read recently at a job interview while leaving the interview that something fell out of the young applicants pants and the HR person said you dropped something. So the young man turned around and picked it up while leaving and they asked what it was, he said its my meth. They didn't get the job.
It's not about hurting themselves, it's about reliability and sincerity. Nobody wants to employ a junkie. He might be an OK worker, but what is he going to do when he's short on cash and has the monkey on his back? Rob you? Steal from you? Will he freak out in front of customers? Will he show up at all? Employing a person like that is low reward, high risk, so most employers don't even bother...and rightly so.
Drugs are a problem in the blue collar workforce. It's not just a reliability issue but also a safety issue. In the Wendy's example a person who is impaired could accidently push a coworker into a deep fryer. Its not just meth. Legalizing marijuana has created complications for employers because testing is so difficult. You can't easily quantitately spot test for marijuana. If you smoked yesterday and are okay today you still test positive. And qualitative assessments often border on workers rights. So the easy solution is to ban all drugs period.
The left is pushing for legalizing of drugs. But courts are pretty sympathetic to employers who site safety concerns. ive never lost an unemployment case where the cause of firing was drug related.
One wonders how many drugs that gang of geriatrics called Congress are on? It does explain $20 trillion in debt, poor decision making skills.
I can't see why not? Marijuanas main compound is Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and drug tests can determine if it's in your system. Besides the levels of THC is different in many marijuana species and dependent on the strain you are using varies the affects. Smoking marijuana with a 15% THC or lower has minimal affects on ones motor skills or ones ability to do work. I'm not saying its ok to smoke and work, just saying the lunch time, wine, beer or a shot is way worse on a persons performance.
You can measure THC, but it stays in the system for a long time. So how do you punish someone who smoked up 2 weekends ago? And you can't differentiate yesterday's usage from today's practically speaking. But the difference in safety risk to the other employees is huge. Most (if not practically all) companies have a zero tolerance for alcohol during the work day.