Three Reasons Screening for Drug Usage Is So Important for Employers

Employers have a tall task ahead of them when it comes to hiring a staff of responsible, conscientious, and hard-working professionals free of criminal backgrounds, false credentials, or a whole litany of other unsavory practices.

Unfortunately, plenty of unscrupulous individuals loom over hiring processes everywhere muddying the waters of quality hires for potential employers. One of the challenges that good employers face when hiring top talent to join their staff is to sift out employees who may have problems using drugs. The following is a list of three crucial reasons employers should not overlook this check before on boarding their next employee.

1. Safety First — Always! – This point is demonstratively more important for certain industries like trucking, construction, and other jobs where impairment from drug usage could result in serious injury or even death for the employee, a co-worker, or even the general public. In fact, it’s estimated that nearly 50% of all workplace accidents are caused by drug use. Although the importance of drug screening is huge for certain trades, it should be considered mandatory by any industry really.
2. Healthcare Expenses – Employers can dramatically reduce insurance premiums and other healthcare associated expenses by reducing workplace accidents and drug-related sickness. It’s estimated that drug usage costs employers nearly $140 billion per year in medical costs.
3. The Bottom Line – Your bottom line is sure to suffer if drugs are affecting the overall performance of key members of your staff. Productivity and profits underwhelm or perform below expectations because that’s what your staff is doing. Deadlines get missed, customers get angry, and you lose business. This is not a recipe for success.

Don’t fall victim to hiring new employees who may be abusing drugs that could affect the performance of your team in the long run. Contact us at “TruDiligence” for complete employee background checks that include effective drug screening. We have a 20-year record of strong performance within the industry and specialize in FCRA compliant employment screening.