PMA: One-third of all applicants are ineligible for good-paying jobs in Pennsylvania’s manufacturing sector due to drug use or drug test avoidance, according to a new study commissioned by the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association and conducted by Tel Opinion Research. The survey of 200 manufacturing business executives focused on their companies’ experience with drug testing and its impact on their workforce. The results indicate drug use by both potential and current workers is a legitimate concern facing the manufacturing sector in Pennsylvania.
The executives reported that 19 percent of job applicants either refused to take a drug test or did not show up for a drug test that was required as a condition of employment. The fact that almost one in five potential employees does not complete the required pre-employment drug test underscores the difficulty many employers face in finding reliable and dependable workers. When combined with the shortage of skilled workers, employers often report that finding qualified workers remains a struggle; this is just another reason that over 8,000 Pennsylvania manufacturing jobs remain unfilled.
Additionally, the manufacturing business executives reported that 16% of potential employees who take a drug test fail to pass, thus making them ineligible for employment. … (more)
EDITOR: Much of the reason for failed drug tests or refusal to take them is that marijuana will show up for a week or longer after its use. On the other hand, far more dangerous drugs have short testing lives. See government study below replicated at www.DrugWarFacts.org:
“(What Testing Can and Cannot Measure) “Urine drug tests, which are the least expensive and most frequently used form of drug test, can generally detect marijuana use within the past week; cocaine, heroin and other ‘hard’ drugs used within the past two days; and alcohol use within the past several hours (though alcohol is not often included in drug screens). Drug tests cannot measure frequency of use, nor do they indicate the severity of impairment or whether an individual has a substance use disorder that requires treatment. In addition, without medical review and confirmation testing on initial positive results, 20 urine screens also cannot distinguish between the illicit use of street drugs and the legitimate use of certain prescription and over-the-counter drugs. For instance, a drug test cannot distinguish between prescribed Tylenol with codeine and illicit opiates. Improper testing procedures and mishandling of samples can also produce inaccurate results.” – See more at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Drug_Testing#sthash.WPPRHN0M.dpuf”
The rock band Van Halen had a contract requirement that backstage at concerts there must be a large jar of M & M’s with all the candies of a specific color removed. I always thought this was some power play by the band, but I heard in an interview that it was a simple measure of the concert promoter’s attention to detail. The band felt that if a promoter could not even manage to achieve this simple, but curious, request, then more important aspects of the production like the electrical rigging might also be suspect.
That is how I view drug testing. If you can’t even pass a simple drug test how will you perform other more important details of a good job?
Lots of us have used and abused various substances, but some of us can get our act together when necessary, and others, unfortunately, can’t. (Spell check is my personal attention-to-detail test).