Dive Brief:
- Employers have it tough enough trying to fill open jobs. But as more job candidates fail (or refuse to take) pre-employment drug tests, the already tight labor markets are becoming even more challenging, according to the New York Times.
- The problem is partly due to the rise in drug testing in general, whether it's for white collar jobs or in sectors such as construction and trucking where, for safety reasons, testing is mandated by federal law. Even small employers are doing more drug testing, the Times reports.
- At the same time, an increase in the use of drugs like marijuana (becoming legalized and decriminalized in various areas throughout the country), heroin and other opioid drugs is placing pressure on already struggling talent pipelines, according to the Times.
Dive Insight:
Calvina L. Fay, executive director of the Drug Free America Foundation, told the Times that while drug use in the workforce is hardly new, it's now seen as "edging back up some.” At the same time, employers and industry associations "have expressed exasperation."
While the Times reports that data on the problem's scope is not reliable, it cited research from Quest Diagnostics, a drug testing company, that documents an increase for a second consecutive year in the percentage of U.S. workers who tested positive for illicit drugs — to 4.7 percent in 2014 from 4.3 percent in 2013, which was the first year in a decade to show an increase, according to the Times.
So what's an employer to do? Sources in the Times article don't offer any long-term solutions, but it seems employers have to balance drug testing against job duties, especially in states where marijuana has been legalized. For example, a roofing company owner in Colorado told the Times it's nearly impossible to find a roofer or painter who can pass a drug test. On the other hand, many smaller business owners and employees say if people want the jobs, the drugs have to go.
