Are your employee drug tests accurate? - Safety and Health

HR Magazine, Jan, 2003 by Diane Cadrain

Meanwhile, the entrepreneurs say business is booming.

"Business is very good," confirms Sue Thompson, an herbalist with PYDT. "Those new state laws really don't affect us. You have to realize that where there's a will there's a way. Business is, and will remain, steady. PassYourDrugTest.com will continue to help anyone who asks and will stand behind our words 100 percent, anytime."

The feds are also undaunted. "We have our challenge," responds Donna Bush, Ph.D., chief of drug testing at SAMHSA. "But that doesn't stop us."

STATES TAKE ACTION

The following states passed laws making drug test fraud a crime.

State           Year the Law Was Enacted

North Carolina            2002
Oregon                    2001
Pennsylvania              1997
Texas                     1991

RELATED ARTICLE: How to Ensure Accurate Drug Tests

Have a policy. "The most important thing employers can do is set up a policy stating the consequences for diluted or adulterated tests," says Laura Shelton, executive director of the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association in Alexandria, Va. "Put it in writing, circulate it and have employees acknowledge in writing that they read and understood it."

Tell employees about the law. If you operate in state that has criminalized test fraud, make sure employees know about it. If you operate under federal rules, make sure they know that someone who substitutes or adulterates urine is treated as having refused testing. The consequences are failure to hire or removal from duty.

Consider stricter rules of your own. Private companies can have more stringent dilution or adulteration cutoffs, or more severe consequences for cheating than for testing positive.

Decrease notice before testing. "More applicants given diluted specimens than people who are randomly tested, because they have more time," says Donna Smith, Ph.D., senior vice president of Substance Abuse Management Inc. (SAMI) in St. Petersburg, Fla.

"We test employees on the same day they apply," says Herb DeGroft, HR manager at Smithfield Packing in Smithfield, Va.

Limit employees' movement. "Keep them in the room on testing days, don't give them access to lockers, and escort them to the test site," says Deborah Moore of the Texas Transportation Department. Moore has seen workers attempt to substitute urine.

Train supervisors. "Make sure they know how to spot someone who's hiding urine for substitution," she says.

Consider saliva or hair testing. "It's virtually impossible to cheat on hair or saliva tests," says Smith. "Current DOT rules don't allow it. Otherwise, it's an option."

However, some companies, such as Nevada-based PassYourDrugTest.com, advertise products--including mouth-wash and shampoo--that are designed to help employees defraud these tests, as well.

Use a knowledgeable lab. "Make sure they do dilution and adulterant testing," says Shelton. "They should be checking for fraud by smell, color, temperature, floating particles or foaming."

Set up a peer referral system. Co-workers know when someone has tried to beat a test.