Do Restaurants Drug Test Employees? Nowadays, almost every reputable restaurant conducts a drug test on potential employees before giving them the green light to begin work. Businesses that don’t compel employees to submit to random drug testing are becoming increasingly rare.
Drug testing companies all around the world have spent a lot of money trying to persuade businesses that drug testing their personnel is good for business.
Although there’s been a rise in drug testing for employees, not all companies have established any kind of strict guidelines.
The majority of fast-food restaurants do not conduct drug tests, and those that do are typically not linked with any of the major brands. Pre-employment drug testing is usually the norm, and random drug testing is uncommon after you’ve been employed.
Do Restaurants Drug Test Employees? (Which Restaurants Do Drug Testing?)
Restaurants can be dividend in two brackets:
Full-service Restaurants: Catering establishments that offer a complete restaurant experience – from tables, extended menus to attending waiters, all can be found in these establishments.
Limited-service Restaurants: Places where customers place orders, pick their own meals, and pay upfront before eating, come in this bracket. Additional services such as dining in, ordering food on the go, or having it delivered to their homes or offices are some of the options available in these establishments.
Drug testing in the workplace can improve the safety of both employees and the general public. There is no clear data on which kind of restaurants do the most drug testing, but it has been seen that fully established restaurants spend more on drug testing than fast-food joints.
Collection, laboratory analysis, and medical screening officer assessment are included in the cost of a drug test which can go as high as 80$ per test. The drug test being so expensive can be one of the reasons why fast food joints avoid testing their employees.
What Is a Drug Test?
The main purpose of drug testing is to look for evidence of using one or more drugs with abuse potential in individuals who are being tested on a regular or random basis.
Drug testing is widespread in many industries. Drug testing in the workplace improves the safety of both staff and customers.
When Do Restaurants Conduct Drug Tests?
There is no set time when a restaurant should do drug tests – they can do it anytime! Although, there are certain situations when drug tests should be performed, and these are –
A pre-employment drug test is performed to detect whether or not a potential employee is abusing illegal drugs or prescribed medications.
There are times when it’s appropriate to conduct a pre-placement drug test for employees returning to work following an accident or absence.
Suspicion can often lead to a drug test. This is not very common, but if your employer feels iffy about your behavior, they have the right to test you for drugs.
Periodic Testing is widespread and a standard way to test all the employees. Employees who haven’t been involved in a work-related accident are required to participate in the yearly health screening.
This kind of Testing has a big loophole – Employees can plan ahead of time for this sort of Testing by abstaining from illicit substances to bypass the drug test.
Random Testing is uncommon, and, in most cases, companies refrain from it. Drug testing without prior warning is done to prevent employees from attempting to deceive drug tests.
Employees are subjected to rigorous testing methods to ensure they cannot evade or tamper with the sample once it is picked.
A post-accident drug test may be performed to identify if drugs or alcohol were a contributing cause after an accident. A clear set of rules to figure whether or not a test will be undertaken and how and by whom it will be evaluated will help everyone involved.
There can be several other reasons when a restaurant can do a drug test. There is no federal legislation that prohibits employers from doing a drug test on their employees.
Although, in certain places, employers are limited in their ability to perform drug testing because of legislative restrictions.
Will You Pass the Drug test If Marijuana Is Found In Your System?
Marijuana is a drug in unlegalized states and medicine in legalized states. Among those addicted to drugs, marijuana is third on the list, behind only cigarettes and alcohol. There are only a number of states that allow the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
The legalization of marijuana for medical or recreational uses remains a hot-button issue in most countries. Unless your state has legalized marijuana, you should not consume it.
THC levels in marijuana cigarettes can range widely, making it difficult to determine how much of the psychoactive ingredient is in a specific cigarette. Detection times of more than 90 days have been observed in rare cases.
So, it completely depends on your employer’s and state policy on how you will be treated if you have THC present in your system. Depending on that, they can fire, suspend, or leave you with a warning.
Conclusion:
Drug testing should be done by an occupational health professional regardless of the size of your company, whether it is a multinational corporation or a small local firm.
In many ways, both employers and employees have similar objectives. Their shared goal is to see the company prosper, and they are both aware that to do so, it must be competitive and deliver on its promises to shareholders.
Drug-free workplaces might attract job applicants who are unable to find work elsewhere because of their substance usage.
Customers who come to eat at your place expect a certain standard, and if you can’t provide a safe and sound environment to them, then there are other places they can go for.
An effective drug-free workplace program may be implemented using the guidance provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
There is a slew of negative consequences for one’s health when one indulges in drug usage. However, a healthy workplace may be achieved by teaching employees about the dangers of drug use and by conducting random drug tests in the workplace.
