Reasons for Testing - Random

We do random testing for over 1400 companies…primarily with urine specimens.  DOT regulations require both pre-employment and random testing, and specify the use of urine specimens (with well-established testing standards/procedures).

Consequently, we have reliable data on the random testing of large groups of people who have already passed pre-employment drug testing conducted to standards that substantially exceed standards utilized by most employers conducting non-regulated testing. 

The positive rate for random testing is approximately the same as the positive rate for pre-employment testing.  What does that mean?  It means that 50% of the drug users are not being detected by the pre-employment testing.  How can that happen?  Does that mean that the tests are only 50% accurate?  No.  There are 5 categories of people who may not be detected by a specific pre-employment (saliva or urine) test conducted at a given date and time. 

(1) drug users who use 1 of about 3000 products or techniques (e.g., adulteration or substitution) used to defeat your drug test…and the use was undetected (which is partly a function of employer policies and procedures, plus lab and specimen collection efficacy), and/or effective…this time;
(2) drug users who use 1 of those 3000 products/techniques…and it didn’t work…but, their last drug use was outside the “window of detection” (w.o.d.);
(3) drug users who were able to avoid using drugs and avoid subjecting themselves to a pre-employment during the w.o.d. immediately preceding the drug test;
(4) regular drug users who didn’t do any of the previous, but whose last drug use was outside the w.o.d.; and
(5) “casual” or infrequent drug users, whose last use of drugs was outside the w.o.d. 

Pre-employment hair testing will come pretty close to eliminating all of those categories (except some members of Category 5 for whom “infrequent” is very infrequent) with a single test before the person goes to work (and generates HR costs). 

Urine testing (done correctly) can get you pretty close to the same “level of confidence” (as a single hair test) by conducting 1 pre-employment test plus 2 random tests (you may still miss catching those who are very lucky). 

Three urine tests (1 pre-employment plus 2 random) take longer to approach that hair test “level of confidence”, but spread the total cost over approximately 4 years (random testing at a 50% annual rate).  If you conduct random testing at a 25% annual rate, it will take about 8 years to reach that same “drug-free” level of confidence obtained through a single hair test.  Meanwhile, the HR costs of drug abuse (absenteeism, reduced productivity, accidents, unemployment, worker’s comp, etc.) continue to add up. 

For non-regulated employers, it is possible to establish multiple random testing pools where the annual percentage testing rate decreases as the drug-free level of confidence increases for a specific pool.  That’s a more cost-effective (more effective, less cost) method of testing…and we can show you how to do that. 

How can I set up an effective (and cost-effective) random testing program?
Contact Jim Carlyle at 800-459-9012 xt 787.