Employee Drug Test

Typically, an employer will ask that you submit to a drug test after you have accepted an offer of employment and before you start work. You may have a few days notice but often you are asked to report to the test site the following day. You are usually given an information slip and directions to the collection facility.

On arriving at the testing facility you will be asked for a photo I.D. and asked to fill out a form stating which medications, if any, you are currently taking. It is important at this point to remember that if you are using one of our products such as Detoxify® that eliminates all traces of drugs in your urine that you don’t list any prescription medications you currently take. The absence of medications in the urine that are listed by you as a current medication can result in the sample being deemed too dilute or not suitable for testing and confirmation. A technician will transfer the information you provide onto the required forms and give you a sample cup from a collection kit. The kit typically includes:

• Two collection cups
• a test strip
• labels for the GC/MS at the lab and the EMIT panel that is used onsite.

In some cases you will be asked to change into a hospital gown but this isn’t common. If you aren’t asked to change you will be asked to remove your jacket or coat if you are wearing one and to empty your pockets and place those items in a receptacle until the testing procedure is over. You will be taken to a restroom and asked to wash your hands while the technician checks the room’s integrity. You are asked to wash your hands to remove contaminants such as soap, dry bleach, salt and sugar, all of which have been used to contaminate urine samples. You will then be told how much urine is needed, between 30 and 45 milliliters, informed not to flush and not to turn on the faucet in the sink. The water in the toilet is dyed, usually blue or green and flushing after urinating is grounds for failing the test. If you continue to void into the toilet after filling the sample container, resist the urge to flush. You are then left alone in the room or stall while you void. (See probation drug tests) Fill the sample cup and hand it to the technician that will be wearing gloves. You will then be allowed to wash your hands and asked to follow the technician out of the room. The sample should never leave your sight at this point in the testing procedure.

The paperwork is finalized at this point with you present. The urine is tested for temperature, creatinine levels, Ph and nitrite. A vial of urine carried in your pocket will not be within the allowed temperature range of 90-100 degrees. If the creatinine levels are too low the sample will be refused for being too dilute. Cleansers and bleach will adversely affect the Ph levels. After the initial test is complete, the sample will be split into two cups. The second sample is used if something happens to the first one, or there are conflicts. You will then be asked to sign two pieces of tape, one for each collection bottle, and a label for the transport bag that both samples are placed in. The samples are sealed with the tape, placed in the transport bag and sealed with the label. At this point, the procedure is over and the samples are allowed to leave your sight.

The results for a negative drug test are normally known the following day, positive test results are known within 1-5 days.

Your employer typically calls and won’t mention the drug test if you pass but schedules the employee orientation. Some employers merely won’t call if you fail the drug test; others call and give you the results and make arrangements for a second test, or decline your offer of employment.

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