I worked for a US company in the past and in my contract there was a phrase that I'm going to paraphrase. "Can be sent to unannounced drug tests (US only)"
This isn't a worldwide issue.
this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2023
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Unpopular Opinion
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Always thought they were ridiculous and intrusive. So long as you show up sober and do your job properly who the fuck cares what you do in your off time? I'm the director for a nonprofit. I'm a huge stoner and my boss (executive director) was a hippie back in the day lol. I love hearing her wild drug stories from the 70's and 80's lmao. I'm also pretty open with my employees about the fact that I smoke weed. Turns out most of them do too! I always come well dressed, usually in a suit with a clean haircut, so I love seeing their faces when I tell them I'm a pot head lmao
Anyway, my employees are all very hard workers and I can tell they enjoy working here. The fuck would I ruin that by drug testing?
What really blows my mind is that some employers in the US test for nicotine usage now and can deny you a job, or fire you for using a perfectly legal, non mentally impairing substance.
I applied to work for Discover and they told me about their policy. I told them to pound sand.
That's usually about health insurance. Keeps their premiums down if they offer health as a benefit. Doesn't make it right, but it is not a morality thing on the firm's part.
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Does this community work like r/unpopularopinion where you're supposed to upvote if you disagree and downvote otherwise? I agree, but I'm not sure which action to take.
I upvote if the opinion is genuinely unpopular, regardless of whether or not I agree, and taking into account that agreement in this subreddit does not mean agreement in life.
There are a lot of things that are popular on lemmy, or even just online, that are deeply unpopular opinions, and I think those should get upvotes here.
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It's an insurance thing. Gotts have business insurance. Can't get that unless you can show that at least pretend to not have drug users working there. A drug test is the best way to show that effort.
The last job I worked at said they reserved the right to drug test at any time. Thankfully they never did, because I use cannabis to treat pain for a rare nerve disorder and I would be in pretty serious pain all the time if I didn't. But I was basically ready to stand up to them and say, "I'm not taking the test. I use cannabis. It's legal one state over, which is where I buy it. I don't get high when I'm working. If you want to fire me for it, have fun finding a new employee."
IIRC, many industries still get tax breaks and financial incentives for doing so.
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Depends on the job. I don't know that I want my kids teacher on meth, or an airline pilot on speed or whatever. Working in education and the aviation industry (and military) are the only times I've been required to take a drug test. Don't know why it would be mandatory for certain industries. Like. Is my food not going to make it to the table from the kitchen because the waiter smoked a joint before his shift?
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I'm in NZ, but generally if you work on an industrial site, pre-work checks are normal along with "reasonable cause testing" and random checks are becoming more popular.
For office work, I don't know anyone that is tested.
Having worked on various industrial sites for over 15 years, I have only been randomly tested once, I have had two pre-employment checks done.
I don't see it as a big deal here, the reasonable cause testing is done to ensure who is safe, we have nationalized insurance here so there is no denial of claims or anything similar. You will almost certainly be fired if you are under the influence and cause an accident.
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