Need to Know: Marijuana and Workplace Drug Testing

For any smart business leader, regular drug testing is just part of the productivity toolkit; drug-free workplaces enjoy high productivity, consistently safe environments, and maintained operating costs from insurance to employee turnover. But when it comes to drug testing, trust is a two-way street.

Though employers reserve the right to drug test at any point, within reason, protections of employees rights and privacy are hugely taken into account. Following events as early as 2004 when one in six companies admitted to using drug test samples from potential hires to scan for “genetic risk factors,” general attitudes, especially from employees, began to sour in the face of drug testing. To manage this massive breach of trust and unlawful invasion of privacy, employees today are now protected by the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, or GINA and most states now have genetic testing on employees completely banned. Furthermore, the Americans with Disabilities Act reserves your right to take prescription medications under a doctor’s orders including drugs that may trigger a false positive on workplace drug tests, and even protects medical marijuana users in some states.

As recreational and medical marijuana legislation evolves from state to state, the standards and demands of workplace drug testing are evolving as well. Take a look at this infographic for more on the current state of workplace drug testing, how to understand your rights as an employee, and what the future may hold for the standards of drug-free work environments.