Thu, April 28th, 2011 - 4:59 am - By Gordon Basichis
Most employers who conduct drug tests as a background check for their employment screening do so only at the time hire. There are exceptions of course, and then there are the exceptions where drug tests are mandated for contractors who are working at hospitals, defense industry related companies, or with companies who otherwise have federal contracts. But for the most part the drug test is part of the preemployment screening program.
So people smoking dope, after they get the job is not the most exceptional thing you will ever hear about. And with many states now allowing for medical marijuana, there are some gray areas about drugs in the workplace. Certain respective rules and oversight are still in debate about what constitutes an employee’s rights versus employer’s rights and potential safety hazards on the job. These are being hashed out in courts and the process will probably continue for a number of years, before uniform standards, if ever, are adopted.
All that being said, this is a great story, a true story, Ian Welsh was kind enough to share on Toobox.com. The article is entitled, Workplace Shenanigans–The Pot Calling the Kettle Black. It’s a very entertaining recount of one employee ratting out the other because he smoked marijuana on the job. Of course, as the story progresses, we learn the snitch was sharing the marijuana with the person he snitched on. Interesting. Especially since the snitch wanted the employer to fire the other guy.
I don’t want the spoil the article for anyone, so I will leave it go at that. Here is the link for the story. I would encourage you to read it. And for those curious, there is no background check for duplicity, except maybe reference verifications where the reference describes the employment candidate’s approach to the job. Doubtful it will come up though as the reference is usually someone the candidate’s selected. Anyway…have fun reading the story.