Drug Testing in Employment Selection Drug Testing in the Employment Selection Process Drug testing is fast becoming commonplace in the selection of personnel. While too expensive to be used in preselection of all employees, candidates should understand that they may be asked to take a drug test. Questions about civil rights have surfaced since the recent publicity about these tests, but employers have established that it is within their rights to see the workplace is free from hazards that can occur when a worker's performance is affected by drugs. The seriousness of a positive test result should not be taken lightly, since having this on a record may be very detrimental for future employment consideration. Policies in companies differ.
Some companies refuse any retest and a rejection is permanent.
Reasons for non-hire are many, and individuals may not know a positive drug test has removed them from consideration. In the case of a false positive, there would be no chance to request a retest. Laboratory results are not always accurate. The increasing use of testing is overloading laboratories and creating demand for new facilities which may not have established standards for accuracy. Cheaper tests don't discriminate.