Drug testing has overridden the Constitution. In these cases, the workers' constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy is outweighed by the government's interest in maintaining a drug-free workplace. However, because the Constitution only protects citizens from the government and not from private individuals or companies, private sector employees in comparable positions are not afforded these same guarantees. In most states, private sector employees have virtually no protection against drug testing's intrusion on their privacy. Nevertheless, it is abhorrent that private employers are subjecting their workers to drug tests under circumstances that the government does not recognize as justifiable grounds for testing its employees.
Drug testing is inaccurate and unreliable.
Contrary to what companies that test would have us believe, drug tests are not foolproof. In fact, only 85 of the estimated 1,200 laboratories in the United States currently testing urine for drugs meet federal standards for accuracy, qualified lab personnel, and proper documentation and record-keeping procedures. Because private companies are not required to use certified labs, workers are being asked to put their job security in the hands of a test that has insufficient quality controls. Even in labs that do meet the minimum standards, there is plenty of room for error. Hair tests, while much less common than urinalysis, are being administered with increasing frequency and have a whole set of other problems.