SURVEY – Pre-Employment Drug Screening Pierce County, WA 2010 October, 2010

The WorkForce Central Business Connection 4650 Steilacoom Blvd, Bldg 19 Lakewood, WA 98499 253-583-8800 www.TheBusinessConnection.net

SURVEY BACKGROUND AND HIGHLIGHTS The Workforce Central Business Connection’s 2010 Survey on Pre-Employment Drug Screening was conducted in June, 2010.

Pierce County companies that currently use The Business Connection’s recruiting, testing, and training services, and additional area employers, were invited to complete the web-based survey.

Among the Pierce County employers who responded:

52.5% do not have a policy to drug screen all job candidates

64.0% of those who screen do so via urine collection and analysis

29.3% believe the cost of drug screening is prohibitive

Top three substances job candidates are screened for: cocaine – 65.3% cannabis (marijuana) – 62.7% methamphetamine – 61.3%

47.50%

5.00%

9.90%

37.60%

Does your firm conduct pre-employment drug screening for any job candidates?

All job candidates

Select job candidates (concerns of safety, security, etc)

Where required by law (such as DOT requirements)

None - do not conduct drug testing

Other reason cited for not conducting pre-employment drug testing:

- other pre-screening efforts more relevant - family owned/operated - never felt it necessary - economy has not permitted new hires - we have experience with people on drugs and can recognize - unsure - small business with 3 employees - not in our culture - location requirements and collective bargaining agreement - haven’t had a need - we conduct background checks - company culture - (results in) a very limited potential employees

- don’t really believe it helps very much - illegal drugs have never appeared as a problem - too easy to pass a pre-employment test - potential employee knows it is coming and can buy products to pass - a violation of privacy – if they do the job to satisfaction, what does it matter what they do in their private life? - avoiding costs - limited applicant pool - invasion of privacy - not needed for retail sales - not relevant - have not had a need - no policy in place

Other categories identified:

- all - all students and instructors (DOT requirement) - all police department employees - construction sites as required by - contractor/agency - those on construction sites - enter apprenticeship program

- management level employees and above - promotions to management positions - manufacturing - machine operators - drivers - required by DOT - we do not test – drug use does not make a person untrustworthy or suspect

53.60%56.00%

46.40%

35.70%

9.50%

23.80%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

Reasonable suspicion

Post-accident Random For cause Follow-up Other (please specify)

Which of the following post-employment drug testing does your firm use?

Other post-employment drug testing:

- rarely test staff – we encourage them to come forward for treatment if they have problems - CDL transportation required - post-accident when property damage estimated at $500 or greater - random CDL only

- none – an employee should be judged on merits of his/her job performance - as may be indicated by authorities - when someone is destroying their life through substances lots of things go wrong – enough things that there is generally great, not just good, cause for parting ways

14.90%

2.00%

1.00%

5.90%

8.90%

3.00%

18.80%

15.80%

5.00%

2.00%

6.90%

15.80%

Indicate your primary industry category:

Association

Construction

Education Services

Financial Activities

Government

Healthcare

Leisure & Hospitality

Manufacturing

Media

Professional & Business Services

Technology

Transportation & Warehousing

Utilities

Wholesale & Retail Trade

Other

74.00%

21.00%

5.00%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

Jan-99 100-499 500 +

Indicate your staff size:

1.00%9.00%

2.00%

4.00%

1.00%

8.00%

1.00%

7.00%

8.00%41.00%

1.00%

17.00%

Indicate your location:

Bonney Lake

Dupont

Fife

Fircrest

Frederickson

Gig Harbor

Graham

Lakewood

Orting

Puyallup

Sumner

Tacoma

University Place

Other

SUMMARY

A significant number of Pierce County employers either perceive no need to perform pre-employment drug testing, or only perform the pre-employment drug testing as required by law, i.e. DOT.

Some employers reveal they are unconcerned about, or unaware of, the liability risk caused by employee’s behavior ‘off the clock’.

Some employers may needlessly expose themselves to wrongful termination lawsuits by using subjective observation of employee demeanor to determine drug use instead of legally defensible third-party drug testing.

Some employers may even permit drug use to continue until other documentable problems occur that justify termination, suggesting a willingness to risk significant loss of productivity and profit instead of implementing relatively low-cost testing.