Improve workplace productivity and safety with a pre-employment drug screening program.
Trust & Safety
Pre-employment and employment drug screening for the presence of prescription and illicit drugs helps employers maintain a safer, more productive workplace and:
Results
The purpose of drug testing is to determine if controlled substances are present in a person’s body.
Drug screening provides evidence of recent use of specific prescription and illicit drugs, but does not measure the specific amount of drug present.
GoodHire offers multiple options for pre-employment and employment drug screening for companies of all sizes.
Search Options
GoodHire’s employer drug screening offerings are designed to meet your company policy and drug-free workplace obligations, while helping you maintain compliance with applicable regulations. Lab-based urine tests are available with multiple panel options. Lab results are verified by Medical Review Officers (MROs) for highest accuracy. GoodHire also offers DOT Drug Tests, which meet the strict guidelines required by the Federal Government.
* Quick Test is available, however it excludes Methaqualone (MQL) and tests for Methamphetamine in its place.
This is not a complete list of all drug tests. For additional drug testing capabilities, please contact Sales.
Compliance
Employers using a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA), like GoodHire, to run background checks to assess candidates and employees must comply with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and various laws, agencies, and regulations that govern employment screening. When running a drug screening program, it’s also important to:
Create & Follow A Company Drug Testing Policy
Drug testing must be administered fairly and consistently. Candidates seeking employment can be tested as a condition of employment, but all incoming employees must be tested and no one may be singled out.
Check Your State’s Laws
Some states have imposed limitations on pre-employment drug testing. For example, California allows a drug test only after the applicant has received an offer of employment conditioned on passing the test. In other states, employers that drug test may be required to provide written notice or indicate in their job postings that testing is required. Check your state’s laws.
Be Proactive About Compliance
Always consult with your legal counsel if you have questions about drug tests as part of your employment screening program.
Easy to Use
Employment drug testing can help employers screen candidates and existing employees for the presence of both prescription and illicit drugs. Conducting pre-employment drug testing can help employers make informed hiring decisions, ensure a safe and productive workplace, mitigate risk, and stay compliant with applicable drug-free workplace obligations and regulations.
Pre-employment drug testing determines if controlled substances or illicit drugs are present in a candidate’s body. Drug testing for employment may be required by law for certain industries, such as law enforcement and healthcare. For other regulated occupations, such as commercial trucking, a drug test may be required as part of a DOT background check.
Both pre-employment drug testing for candidates and random drug tests for employees can be used to prevent drug use on the job, helping to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries and lower workers’ compensation rates. They are also useful in decreasing employee absenteeism and turnover and identifying employee drug use. For highest accuracy, employers may choose to work with a qualified drug testing service that requires a Medical Review Officer (MRO) to verify the results and consult with any candidates that receive a positive test result.
Pre-employment drug tests look for a variety of substances, including prescription and illegal drugs. While there are many ways to test for drugs, lab-based urine tests are generally used by employers and may include different types of multi-panel testing such as 4-, 5-, 8-, and 10-panel drug screenings.
Since drug tests screen for many different types of substances, it can be challenging for hiring managers, human resources, and employers to understand drug test results. While results may show a positive or negative, employers need to consider additional factors when making hiring decisions. A positive drug test only confirms that a drug was detected in a candidate’s system, but drug tests do not provide further context. For example, they cannot tell an employer a candidate’s frequency of drug use, drug abuse, or how the drug got into their system.
Employers should also understand that drug tests have a cut-off level to help determine positive or negative results. For drugs with a low minimum concentration amount, such as opiates, this can potentially result in false positives if someone has trace amounts of the substance in their system. If the cut-off level is high, trace amounts of drugs could go undetected. Certain over-the-counter medications as well as some prescription drugs can also create false-positives and confusing results.
A 10-panel drug test is a type of drug screening that employers can use to check a candidate for ten different types of illicit substances, plus commonly abused prescription drugs. A standard 10-panel drug test uses a urine specimen to check for illicit substances such as heroin and cocaine as well as prescription drugs like Adderall and Xanax, but can also be extended to check for additional opiate types, such as Oxycodone, as well as the presence of alcohol.
The 10-panel drug test screens for metabolites linked to the following drug types:
A 10-panel drug test is often used in pre-employment screenings for law enforcement, medical professionals, government employees, and other industries where substance use could impact the safety of others. In some cases, a 10-panel drug test may also be a condition for probation.
Similar to the 10-panel drug test, a 5-panel drug test, done through urine testing, can be used by employers to screen for commonly abused prescription drugs or illicit substances. However, the 5-panel drug test only screens a candidate for the presence of five types of drugs, including:
A 5-panel test does not include screening for barbiturates, benzodiazepines, methadone, methaqualone, or propoxyphene.
Drug testing, especially when using a drug testing service, is often a fairly quick process. But it’s important to understand that there is a difference between how long drug test results take and how long it takes for a drug test to come back.
A typical pre-employment drug test starts with the collection of the candidate’s specimen, which can happen within a day or two, depending on the appointment availability with the lab. Once the specimen is collected, an initial screening is run by the lab to determine if any drugs are detected. If the screening shows indications of positive results (the presence of substances) an additional screening is performed with the results being reviewed by a Medical Review Officer (MRO). Once this step is complete, the results are then shared with both the employer and the candidate.
If the lab where the candidate provides their urine sample is equipped with “Quick Tests,” which requires the use of a special cup to collect the sample, results are typically returned within 1 to 5 business days. Labs that are not “Quick Test” enabled, generally take 3 to 5 business days to return results. If additional testing is required, or the MRO is unable to contact the candidate, results could take up to 10 business days to return.
Saliva drug tests are used to detect traces of substances in someone’s saliva or oral fluid. They are also known as a mouth swab drug test, oral drug test, or cotton swab drug test. But how far back will a swab drug test go? Typically, a mouth swab drug test’s detection period is pretty short, ranging from 5 to 48 hours.
How many days back does a mouth swab drug test go? This depends on several factors, including the type of drug used, how much was taken, and the frequency and duration of drug use. For example, while heroin can only be detected with an oral swab test for about an hour, marijuana can show up for 72 hours. Other variables may include how the drug was prepared and administered, the person’s metabolism, and the sensitivity of the test itself.
The short detection period of swab tests is significantly shorter than blood tests, which can detect drugs for a couple of days, or urine tests which show the presence of some substances for up to four days. For this reason, saliva drug tests are generally best suited for detecting current or recent drug use.
Hair follicle drug testing can detect substances in a person’s system for many months. While urine tests are the often the standard for employment drug testing, hair samples can better detect long-term drug use. For this reason, some employers may request candidates or employees consent to hair follicle drug testing.
Although how far back hair follicle drug testing goes can be 90 days or more, it’s important to note that they can only detect traces of drugs in a person’s system. It also can take seven to ten days of hair growth to show a positive result. Should an employer want to know if a person is under the influence at the time of the drug test, a hair follicle test will not be useful. Hair follicle test results also do not include alcohol.
There are many factors that can affect the average cost of drug testing for employers, from the type of drug tests ordered to the frequency of the testing and even the number of candidates or employees that need to be tested.
However, even with all of the variables, the cost of drug testing is often relatively low for employers – especially when they partner with a trusted CRA. For example, GoodHire’s 4- and 5-panel drug screenings both start at $59.99 per candidate, with extra discounts available for employers with high-volume orders.
Pre-employment drug testing may be an important part of your background check process to help maintain a safer, more productive workplace. Companies that choose to work with a qualified background check provider, like GoodHire, can benefit from faster, more accurate results.
GoodHire offers 100+ background screenings, including 4-, 5-, and 10-panel tests. Our drug screenings can help employers meet company policy and drug-free workplace obligations, while staying compliant with federal, state, and local regulations. Plus, our user-friendly platform provides easy scheduling and streamlined reporting. Get started.
The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. We advise you to consult your own counsel if you have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.
