The Department of Health Drug Testing Program sets the standards for drug testing. These policies affect the way employees are hired and how they are punished for substance abuse. Drug testing has become more common as a result of the growing problem of prescription drug abuse. For employers and employees, understanding what the department of health has to say about drug tests can help you make an informed decision.
The purpose of the federal government’s drug-training program is to prevent drug abuse. In the United States, drug-training programs are overseen by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Office of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Drug Treatment Center (DTC), and the Office of Applied Research in Substance Abuse (OASAS). Federal law restricts employers from requiring employees to take a drug test at random or have pre-employment drug screenings. Instead, all employers must establish reasonable suspicion or probable cause that a person engaged in drug use is having a drug problem before they can request that person to undergo drug screening and testing. This means that if an employer asks an employee to submit to a drug test or a drug screen, the employee is legally obligated to comply unless there is a valid reason for the initial request. In addition to the Guidelines issued by the DHHS, states also have their laws regulating drug testing.
State regulations regarding drug tests vary, but there are basic ways that most tests are administered. When state-regulated drug tests are used, the nurse will administer the test. Sometimes, the nurse will administer the test to one or more people; other times, only one person will be administered the test. Either way, the subject is under the supervision of a nurse.
Drug testing in a blood sample is also available. This involves collecting a small amount of blood from the subjects suspected of drug use. Once the blood sample is collected, it is sent to a drug-testing laboratory. According to their composition, a medical expert will look through the samples and determine which substances are in the samples.
The Department of Health Drug Testing does not endorse the use of these home drug test kits. It must be noted that the success rate of these kits is often low and cannot necessarily confirm positive drug testing. Also, these drug-testing programs have been associated with legal issues and controversies. As such, the government has placed strict regulations on the clinical laboratories that conduct these drug-testing programs.
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