It is almost inevitable: You have a great prospect almost in the fold and are just waiting for the pre-employment drug screen and the result comes back positive. Most companies will automatically rule that prospect out, but what if they are a potential game-changer for your company? Here is some general advice regarding how to handle a failed drug test by a uniquely qualified employee prospect.
If your policy for failed drug tests is a “hard no” regarding employment, then your hands are tied. Just follow the procedure. No prospect is so promising that altering a policy is worth the hassle, legally, logistically or from a management perspective.
If, however, your policy is more forgiving, make that clear, but be sure you put limits on your leniency. If your policy is flexible, word will get out and prospective employees will be less cautious in applying, meaning you will have more to process and deal with.
Drug screening exists to help companies maintain legal compliance and ensure a safe workspace. In most cases, a failed test enacts a strict “no-hire” policy, but some companies maintain flexibility regarding a final hiring decision. If that is the way your management team is leaning, the first step is to work out a policy and then have a labor lawyer examine it.
Part of that policy should cover what is permissible and what is not, when the flexibility is extended and what type of results would not qualify. It also must have a process by which the person who failed the drug screening can work but on in a probationary status, subject to further drug screening. If any discretion is afforded managers, how that discretion is to be derived and implemented should be spelled out clearly.
People fail drug screenings for several reasons. Some are legitimate use of the substance that failed them. You do not have to let them justify the results, but in some cases, further testing will yield a compliant employee.
The key to allowing for corrections is to be clear regarding what the policy is. Second testing should be automatic in any appeal process. Additionally, you need to consider if you want to give the prospective employee a change to explain the results. Finally, you need to decide if the second test is picked up by the prospective employee or the company.
The key to any pre-employment drug screen policy is that it is clear regarding company policy and procedures up front. The clearer you make it, the easier it will be to implement and the fewer headaches you will cause yourself.