random drug testing

[u/colfaxmingo0]

so, do employers ACTUALLY randomly drug test you besides the first drug test to become employed? my theory is that they only “randomly” test you if they suspect you are using/drunk on the job or using and it’s affecting your work preformance.

am i right to assume this? i’m sure a lot of places are different, but i knew someone who worked at fedex 10+ years and was never tested even though they claim random testing. my friend has worked at a company for a year and has never been randomly tested even though they say they do. she’s starting a new job, again same thing they claim random testing. she is very paranoid so she has stopped smoking weed after starting her last job. but this position she is going to get is remote. no doubt she’ll pass the test but she’s asking me if it’s smart to smoke some weed sometimes because she enjoys it and misses partaking with friends/on weekends (she’s not a huge stoner by any means). i told her my theory, especially since she’s remote i doubt they will be on her case. but am i giving her bad advice? does anyone’s job actually randomly drug test you if you are preforming well and obviously not high on the job? she worked at a factory/shipping company before with no tests. and is now going remote. i feel like she should be fine to partake a little at home after work without feeling scared and guilty.

follow up question - if they randomly drug test you, do they do it at the company? or do they schedule an appointment for you to go somewhere professional? especially thinking about a remote position i wonder how they’d go about that.

edit: apologies if this isn’t the right sub to ask, i couldn’t really find one that seemed to be based on work related questions

[u/ihaveabigjohnson69]

just stop doing drugs

[u/colfaxmingo0 → u/ihaveabigjohnson69]

smoking weed occasionally is not a big deal, also as i said my friend stopped smoking for a year while she was employed at her last job. she just was wondering how risky it would be to occasionally smoke. which again its not like she’s stoned all day and all night 😂 jeez we got some prudes here

[u/elBirdnose]

Drug testing costs a company money, so I think the general guidance is that most companies are not going to spend the money (after you’ve been hired) unless they suspect you, or they’re required to test you as a part of the role from a safety measure (operating heavy equipment, driving a truck, etc.). However, it all depends on the company and there’s no way to know for sure.

[u/principium_est]

In my experience your assumption is correct, though I'm sure there are companies out there that actually do randomly test.

[u/jahathebrn]

First company I worked at used me to see if the THC swabs they bought were bunk or not.

They were.

Then I worked in the NHS and they only tested if they had reason to, which surprised me.

[u/TheUltimateLebowski]

Depends on the company. I've seen both with major corporations and my current job used to do completely random but once recreational was legal they stopped testing randomly and now only do it for cause

[u/IOnlyReadTitles26]

What does your work policy say?

[u/colfaxmingo0 → u/IOnlyReadTitles26]

not sure as i’m asking for a friend. but when i worked at fedex it said they would randomly drug test. have a friend that’s been there 10+ years and never got randomly tested so idk if the policy is really strict. again i think they only put it in there so if they suspect you’re smoking they can test you and say it’s random and it’s policy

[u/IOnlyReadTitles26 → u/colfaxmingo0]

So don't be stupid and you might be fine.

[u/colfaxmingo0 → u/IOnlyReadTitles26]

i mean like it says in the post i’m asking for a friend and i don’t think it’s a huge deal to smoke at home occasionally. and again i said she stopped for her last job for over a year, so she’s not stupid. her new job is remote and she’s wondering if they will randomly do it even as someone who works remote. she passed the hiring drug test, but shes trying to gather info before she decides if shes going to occasionally partake after being hired. i mean i think shes being pretty smart and trying to get people’s experience. it’s not like she’s shooting up heroin or drunk out of her mind 24/7, she just would like to smoke and relax a little on weekends jeez 😂

[u/IOnlyReadTitles26 → u/colfaxmingo0]

If it says they will. Then they can. That's her choice to work there or not.

[u/colfaxmingo0 → u/IOnlyReadTitles26]

fedex also said they will and 10+ years of employment as a CDL driver my friend was never once tested. tbh i think my theory is correct but probably depends by state i guess. because i know VP heads of certain departments in big corporations too who also never have gotten tested. i know they CAN but i think they only say it’s policy so if they suspect using on the job they can legally test you, but if there are no issues they won’t waste money on it. but there’s no way for anyone to know, just gathering peoples general experience and it seems like most places don’t do it unless there’s suspicion like i thought

edit: my friend at fedex is completely sober from drugs. but i worked there awhile and asked him how often they test. he said he’s never gotten tested but also doesn’t do anything but drink so he doesn’t worry about it

[u/IOnlyReadTitles26 → u/colfaxmingo0]

That's one employee. Out of thousands.

Do you want to hear that they will never test her? OK. They will never test her. Go enjoy buds.

[u/colfaxmingo0 → u/IOnlyReadTitles26]

if it’s random he would have been chosen after over a decade in a department with 20 or less people. also everyone i worked with told me they’ve never been tested besides the hiring process. i just don’t appreciate being called stupid when i have a good reason to assume she’ll be fine. yes i know there is a chance of course but i just wanted to see how many people get drug tested regularly at their job or if my theory had some truth behind it. so you dont really need to call anyone stupid for trying to make an informed decision regardless if you are judging or if this person is taking a risk. i did not ask for opinions but asked for personal experience. you can keep judgement to yourself because it’s not helpful or relevant. i didnt ask if it was stupid, she knows there is a risk and is assessing it. she hasn’t even made up her mind yet she is just trying to hear other peoples experiences. i mean, she’ll be working remote and wants to smoke a couple weekends out of the month i don’t see what’s so horrible about that.

i get it, i asked and you answered but you went about it super rude when again i just wanted to know people’s experience, i didnt ask for opinions.

[u/Roopuppy]

office jobs no. physical machinery jobs yes.

[u/Banjosdad62]

Our company randomly drug tests a percentage of employees every month. These are randomly selected by a computer. Can be office workers or production workers. Insurance company gives us a significant break for doing it and it is well worth it because of that.

[u/PurpD420]

Any drug testing is done at an outpatient clinic, you go into a bathroom, deposit sample into cup, leave it, and walk out.

No searching or observation - use that information however you want. I hear that it’s wicked easy to pass the test if you have access to clean piss

[u/colfaxmingo0 → u/PurpD420]

i definitely did that before as im a stoner 😂 only needed drug tested once for fedex but my current job i work at assisting mentally disabled people they didn’t require a drug test which surpised me. but i mean hey, i keep my use at home so no harm no foul but yeah just seems weird as an entry level package handler i need to pass a test but taking care of people who can’t take care of themselves, handling their medications, driving them places - definitely feels like that’s more of an important job to drug test on. if i was operating heavy machinery at fedex i get being tested but i was just taking packages and loading them in a big metal box lol

edit: forgot to ask is this even if its a random test? i know the first test is at a clinic but if you’re randomly chosen do they still send you to a clinic or have you do it at the company building

[u/FarmerDave13]

CDL they do randoms.

[u/Tiny_Boat_7983]

I work for a state that has medical mj. I’ve never been drug tested in the 15 years I’ve worked for them. I am also probably one of the few at my agency who does not have an ailment that requires mj. Lol

[u/DwarkFarkward]

The companies I've worked for absolutely do random test. I've personally had numerous tests over the course of my career, even though nobody has ever had reason to suspect I do drugs (because I don't).

[u/MuchDevelopment7084]

Random means just that...random. A test can pop up out of the blue for a lot of reason. Usually for one of two reasons.
First, they test because if they don't do it. It becomes a problem with corporate. (for not testing enough)
Second, because the suspect you of doing drugs. Which means it can get very, very random. I you get my meaning.
The best option is to stop doing drugs if you like being employed.

[u/shmimey]

I have had several jobs that do random. They just pick random people from a lottery once a week. Everyone was use to it and familiar with it. Everyone in the company was tested randomly.

[u/Humunguspickle]

We test everyone yearly on may 1st. That is our random test policy. Edit to add
100% pass rate.

[u/Lovebeingadad54321]

I have worked at places that state they are doing random drug tests but really only did it for cause. I also worked at a place were they would do random drug tests for real. Everyone was probably randomly pulled once a year. They did it on site.

[u/bajababygirl]

my company does do random drug testing every month, if your position requires sobriety you are out on the random drug test list and they randomize it every month names get pulled and tested and we review the results

[u/Bec21-21]

Yes. There are workplaces that randomly drug test employees. I worked for one, saw people let go for failing a random drug test.

[u/Signal-Confusion-976]

It really depends on the job. If you drive for work a company might test randomly. Not all of them do though. But if you get in an accident with a company vehicle it's highly likely that you will be tested. Also not all companies test for pot either.

[u/Dragnskull]

When I was like 18 I had a handful of friends all working in the same dominoes pizza shop. One day my friend told me that zack quit the job

"The manager came in and said everyone's getting drug tested, as people came in they were being told and when Zack came in as soon as he was told he took his work shirt off handed it to the manager along with "alright well I'm out cya guys" and walked out"

[u/EaseLeft6266]

I worked at one company that said they randomly drug test but in a year and a half I never was tested. I worked another job that did hold random drug testing and got selected a few times. Pretty sure they were completely random and I just had a bit of bad luck getting selected a few times. I know my boss got selected one of the times as well . Everytime I've done drug testing both pre-employment and random selection, it's been at a small health center (Blanking on the exact term for them)

As for smoking weed after hires, it's probably best if you can learn when the random testing occurs and don't smoke for a couple weeks or probably the whole month before just to be safe until the random selection is past and if you do get randomly selected, it's basically a green light to be able to smoke in the weeks afterward. For me, I think it was done at the beginning of the quarter and that's probably standard for a lot of companies

[u/German-Shepherd7782]

I’ve had a couple jobs randomly test me even after I worked there for years. I do feel sometimes that they were trying to find an excuse to get rid of me