Applications Are Welcome; Drugs Are Not

It’s an oft-heard refrain from many of our clients: “We need good employees.” Not just any employees, but employees who know how to show up for work - consistently and on time. Employees who do good work. And, by the way, who also can pass a drug test. Maybe it’s the lag effects of legalizing marijuana, or the crippling epidemic of opioids invading our workforce. Regardless, communities and business are seeking (with mixed success) drug-free employees. These challenges are outlined, in small part, in an interesting article in Tuesday’s New York Times. Elkhart, Indiana’s Economic Development Corporation head, Mark Dobson, is among those quoted. Also worth reviewing are the hundreds of comments to the article, with readers describing drug testing as a “heinous invasion of privacy” and an “egregious intrusion” into private lives. Until the laws change, however, employees’ opportunities are brighter if they’re clean.

• RELATED TOPICS
• drug test
• Workplace