Is drug testing an invasion of privacy? Most people who are required to take drug tests at their place of employment would complain that mandatory drug testing in the workplace is an invasion of privacy.Employers may consider it a necessary evil and a way of keeping the employees honest.

Mandatory drug testing policies implemented by companies have hit the ground running in the United States. Major employers are now not only requiring criminal background checks of their new hires but imposing their own drug testing policies and procedures on them.

Drug testing is used by employers to ensure a drug free workplace. Employers require drug testing of employees of a particular company to ensure honesty,prevent absenteeism and lower insurance costs. Mandatory drug testing is drug testing that is required of all employees or they will be terminated. Some companies only require mandatory drug testing if their employees are involved in some type of accident at work. There a few companies, but they are growing in number that actually mandate the testing for nicotine in their employees bodies. Companies that test for nicotine have very stringent standards and policies toward smoking. There have even been suggestions by corporate leaders to mandatory drug test the families of employees for nicotine and other drugs.

Is this going to far? Where will this mandatory testing end? It is an invasion of an employees privacy to subject them to such intrusive measures just to ensure an employees reliability,predict and prevent excessive absenteeism and lower insurance costs. Many employees feel that mandatory drug testing has gone too far but unfortunately, not much can actually be done about it. Companies can legally enforce mandatory drug testing and employees can be terminated for refusing to comply with drug testing policies and procedures put forth by their respective employers.

Unions have stepped in for some employees in rejecting contracts that contain clauses which provide for mandatory drug testing of new hires. Unions however, are losing their power in the United States and certainly big business has plenty of power in legislation through lobbying.

Learn more about this author, Danette M. Scott.
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