Pre Employment Drug Testing?

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They have different guide lines depending on what a person does for a living .Obviously they have to be more strict on air traffic controllers and railroad engineers .By the same token though you occasionally hear stories of hung over or snockered air line pilots which seems counter productive .

Silly as it sounds I know a certain railroad track worker,gandy dancer who just checked in with the dispatcher on his day off to check about his next weeks schedual with beer on his breath .He got thirty days off for that .According to RR policy weather he was working or not he was on RR property .
 
It's funny how different societies accept alcohol use. In Germany which has a very high standard of living, it is custom for a working man to enjoy a beer over lunch break.
 
Some of the guys at work went to Bremen Germany a few years back to watch a run off and final testing for some high speed CNC machinery .They remarked they had beer machines in the break rooms . I guess from what they said it isn't a problem to have a cold one but it is to get chit faced on the job .

So I guess it depends on how you look at things .Myself I absolutely refuse to drink beer and run machinery or use firearms .I'm certainly not the saintly type but why take the chance ? After the work is done ,the firearms all stowed away is the time to kick back and enjoy the afternoon .
 
I recall being anchored in port with a French "aircraft carrier." They served wine with the meals, supposedly... we were jealous.
 
It was one of my great enjoyments when working in Great Britain, a fish and chjps pub lunch with a pint or two of ale. It was just my mate, Phillip, and myself up in the chair making room using hand tools. I never thought of it as much dangerous. Using machinery would have been different. The boss didn't seem to mind, he usually came back from lunch at his more uptown pub, very friendly, and I was a little worried how well he could navigate the stairs down to his office. The whole thing might have been a tradition, though a dying one as far as that work was concerned. I like tradition.
 
This has turned into a great thread because many points of view have been expressed. The main question un answered here is ... does this testing help the poor employer just trying to engage good help? ... or is there a better way?
 
I like Nice Guy Dave's point...which makes me wonder whether the situation is a slippery slope. Think about it...if a man likes smokin the herb, is it as detrimental to burn one before bedtime as the man who is going through a marital problem? Do you screen for personal relationship health too?
 
There seems to be a difference in opinion concerning exactly what is a "drug " .

We drinkers if we are honest about will admit it's not the safest thing to become imbibed and attempt to do anything where your reflexs and judgement mind be impaired .Likewise it's probabley not the best practice to catch a buzz and be doing dangerous work also .

Now not passing judgement but if a person used a half amount of brains about things there would be no problem .

Maybe the more conserative among use might chastise those who partake of the herb .I personal do not participate but likewise I do not condemn either .

Now you get into some of that hard core main line stuff that's a whole 'nother ball game .That chit will kill ya if not it will definately ruin your life .
 
Sure, I have sent guys home that didn't have their head in the game. I'm not a hater, just looking out for me and mine on a safety front. New dad's with not enough sleep can be a problem.
 
I don't know how long drugs that will show up when testing remain in your system, but so far I don't think that anybody has said that they had a potential employee that asked to be given the time to get clean before taking the test. I guess it could mean one of two things or both, that they don't want to tell you that they have used, and/or the job isn't important enough for them to want to stop using. I wouldn't have thought that not using was too much to ask for if a person much desired the employment, but still they won't or can't? There are a lot of situations where someone may desperately need the work to improve their plight, including the chance to work for a good outfit. You guys that are required to do the testing, if a potential employee was up front about it and asked for the chance, what would your reaction be?
 
Randoms require the person drawn to go directly to the testing facility. If they do not or if they leave before testing (even if they have been waiting hours, which never happens here) or can't fill the cup within 3 hours, that is considered a refusal to test. Automatic failure
 
I'm wondering about someone that is being considered to work for you, not an already existing employee. It seems like two different eggs in some context. An employee has to have been following the rules, a potential may just want to from here on. i think I would stop drinking beer if it was required and allowed me to get on with a good tree work company when I was young and desired learning. If the work doesn't mean enough to someone, much less likely to bother.
 
I'd say that would be the persons choice. "Well, i'd like to work for you but i'm tied up for a few weeks, is that ok?" Or something to that effect would likely work
 
sotc said:
I'd say that would be the persons choice. "Well, i'd like to work for you, so I'll change my lifestyle to suit you"
Click to expand...

That's what I hear.

Until piss testing can differentiate between a joint smoked 12 hours ago or 2, "drug" testing is just a complete rip off.

It's just another way for WC/insurance and OWNERS to get out of doing what they should do. I can't say that enough.
 
I think that is a good answer, Willie. I suppose that there is good reason to be skeptical of a person that is a user and abruptly is put into a position that they must quickly stop. Still, it isn't impossible for people to work a revolution on themselves, and it has been done in the past. Some folks just need a cause and a chance. It seems that for some reason, unfortunately tree work doesn't much attract those types.
 
MasterBlaster said:
That's what I hear.

Until piss testing can differentiate between a joint smoked 12 hours ago or 2, "drug" testing is just a complete rip off.

It's just another way for WC/insurance and OWNERS to get out of doing what they should do. I can't say that enough.
Click to expand...

I could care less if they change or not, it boils down to, if you want to work here, this is what we expect. The choice is ultimately theirs if every thing else qualifies. There are over 50 tree companies within 50 miles, I employ 4 people, they really don't need me.
What am I supposed to be "doing" that testing "gets me out of"?
 
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