Yes, Washington was part of the vanguard of change when it came to legalizing marijuana. And yes, voters in even more states may approve legalization for recreational use in November.
But if you think drug tests have fallen out of fashion in Tacoma, Olympia and elsewhere in this state, think again.
Now that the economy has improved post-recession, companies are jockeying for a smaller pool of job seekers who can pass a mandatory drug screen, said Hans Kueck, an economic development specialist with Pierce County.
Testing positive for cannabis means finding 50 nanograms per milliliter of a marijuana metabolite in ones system. That level shows the individual used a marijuana product days or weeks in the past. It does not prove the person was high at the time of testing.
In all too many cases you have (potential) employees coming in, filling out an application and when they find out they need to take (a urine test) they pick up their application and they just leave, Kueck said of area businesses efforts to hire new talent.
Despite relaxed pot laws and the need for workers, many businesses stick with hiring only drug-free workers for two reasons marijuana continues to be an illegal drug under federal law and businesses fear being found liable if an employee who has an accident is found to have smoked pot.
Not all businesses are having trouble finding workers who can pass a drug test. For example, The Boeing Co., a federal contractor, is not having trouble filling open positions, spokesman Curtis Cartier said in an email.
For others, though, it can be a real investment in time and money.
FINDING SOMEONE WHO CAN PASS THE TEST
At the staffing firm BBSI, more potential hires are failing drug tests than ever before. The firm, with three of its offices between Tacoma and Seattle, acts as a matchmaker between job seekers and companies seeking a particular skill set or temporary workers.
Last year, the company screened more than 3,000 people looking for work, said Steve Bevins, managing director for the offices.
Its three sites screen up to 30 job candidates a day, checking their backgrounds to see whether they qualify for work.
If offered a position, candidates must pass a drug test.
Before legal marijuana in Washington state, around one in five job candidates who were offered work at BBSI failed to pass drug tests. But these days, well over 30 percent fail drug tests, which look for marijuana among other drugs including amphetamines, methadone, opiates, ecstasy and cocaine, basically any drug listed in the DEAs list of Schedule I drugs and a couple of others.
About 95 percent of the time it is marijuana, Bevins said of those who test positive on a drug test. Obviously we get a bit of meth in there and occasionally we get surprised by some other substance.
And there are more are no-shows for scheduled interviews after they learn a drug test is mandatory, Bevins said.
It takes more time and costs more money to find the same number of qualified candidates who can pass a drug screen, Bevins said.
It affects me tremendously.
Express Employment Professionals of Olympia owner Reid Bates has similar views.
Its become a pretty big issue, said about prospective employees passing drug tests in the age of legal marijuana.
Bates, who also owns Express Employment offices in Centralia and Aberdeen, said his staffing agency office in Olympia has worked with 143 employers in Thurston County this year.
He said hes aware of three undisclosed employers that have altered drug-test policies because of pots legal status in Washington state. In other words, if a prospective hire tests positive for marijuana, that employer will ignore the results, he said.
But thats not the case with the majority of his clients, Bates said. He works closely with manufacturers and the warehousing industry, and those industries arent willing to rule out pot as a nonhire decision point, he said.
As a result, the Express Employment office in Olympia has a poster in the lobby making clear that the office tests for marijuana.
Some companies are giving promising candidates more than one try at passing a drug test, said Linda Nguyen, CEO of WorkForce Central in Tacoma.
WorkForce Central itself has not been tracking the number of applicants testing positive for marijuana. Our information is based on our current experience compared to historical experience and what we are hearing from our employers, said Nguyen via email.
At least one area employer is passing along the costs of drug tests, typically up to $50, to job seekers, Nguyen said, though she declined to name the company.
A different company requires a short list of candidates to pass a drug test before conducting interviews and selecting a finalist, said Ellie Chambers Grady, director of business services and sector strategies for WorkForce Central.
Lora Butterfield, executive director of the Fife, Milton, Edgewood Chamber of Commerce, sent an informal poll this year to several of her chambers members.
Seven of 24 companies said they are having a more difficult time finding qualified workers who can pass a drug test, possibly because some applicants believe marijuana is no longer monitored in drug screens.
And the testing doesnt end with hiring.
Many employers test employees after a workplace accident, Kueck said. Those who drink on a Friday and have an incident on a Monday wont test positive for alcohol.
Thats not the case with marijuana, Kueck said. The requirement is if you test positive for marijuana you are fired if the company policy is no tolerance. How long that will hold, I dont know.
Bevins of BBSI said if a worker who uses marijuana gets into a workplace accident, his company could face the legal consequences. All positions are screened for drug use no exceptions, he said.
POLICIES VARY AMONG EMPLOYERS
In some instances, companies can be mellow about marijuana policies. In others, their hands are tied.
Businesses that rely on federal contracts must agree to have a drug-free workplace as a condition of receiving federal dollars.
Because of pots federal status as an illegal drug, many employers are reluctant to change longstanding drug-free workplace policies. Even a medical endorsement card provides no immunity, according to a recent federal court ruling.
Until marijuanas federal status changes, many employers, including Bevins BBSI offices, will keep their longstanding policies.
We are probably one of the strictest in the area, he said. Its our reputation in the market.
Providence St. Peter Hospital, the largest private employer in Thurston County with 2,300 people, has not seen an increase in those who cant qualify for employment because of legal marijuana, said Dana Vandewege, human resources director, Southwest Washington Region.
The reason? Drug testing is standard protocol in the health care industry, so those who work in the industry are aware of whats expected of them to be employed, she said.
Other entities, such as State Farm, do not immediately reject those who test positive for past marijuana use.
If an applicant tests positive for marijuana in a pre-employment or for-cause drug test for State Farm, the medical director would conduct a review before the applicant can move forward in the hiring process, wrote State Farm spokesman Brad Hilliard in an email.
State Farm did not have any information to provide regarding whether they are seeing an uptick in failed drug tests among applicants.
Many small and often family-owned businesses forgo the practice more common in corporate environments.
HuyTuong Vu Nguyen owns Healing Choice Chiropractic in Tacomas Lincoln District. It didnt occur to him to screen his one employee, a massage therapist, for drugs.
I never ask if they use drugs or not. I think it would be a personal issue, he said.
Besides, he said, marijuana is legal. As long as the employees dont come in smelling like smoke (marijuana or nicotine) and dress appropriately for his professional environment, there were no issues.
Those sentiments were echoed by Valla Wagner, co-owner of Teaching Toys and Books in Tacomas Proctor District. Her business has never done drug testing.
We know our people really well. We dont get involved in their personal lives, Wagner said. If there ever came a time someone came to work smelling like marijuana, wed treat it like tobacco: This is not appropriate in a childrens store.
Compass Rose, with stores in Olympia and Tacomas Proctor District does not drug test employees, said manager Emily Hennig and she doubts they ever will.
Even after marijuana was legalized here, she said she saw no difference in the applicant pool.
It really has not affected us, Hennig said.
FoxFire Salon in Proctor is another workplace that does not drug test employees, said owner Karin Walker and general manager Topie Griffin.
Its not even something I think about at the time of the interview. Are they a marijuana user, Griffin said. We are an artistic industry and Im sure there are some who would test positive.
PUBLIC AGENCIES
Unlike many commercial enterprises, local public agencies say they are not seeing a significant increase in those testing positive for marijuana.
Policies vary on who gets tested. All public agencies test those required to have a commercial drivers license for work – which follows federal law mandating testing for transportation employees.
Its rare when a bus driver candidate fails a pre-employment test, said Pierce Transit spokeswoman Rebecca Japhet.
At Tacoma Public Schools, all bus driver candidates must pass a drug test. Spokesman Dan Voelpel said thats a small fraction of the districts overall workforce.
The school district has not seen an uptick in positive drug tests, he said.
Its pretty well known that anyone who works around kids have to go through a pretty extensive background check, Voelpel said. People with a questionable background probably dont even apply to a lot of jobs we have at the school district.
Teachers, on the other hand, do not have to pass pre-employment drug screens, he said.
Nate Olson, spokesman for the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, said the agency does not collect information on whether districts test teacher hires for drugs as a condition of employment.
A drug test isnt necessary to get a teaching certificate, Olson wrote in an email. Only fingerprinting and a background check are (as well as the required education). Employment, though, is handled at the district level.
Lifeguards for Metro Parks Tacoma dont have to pass pre-employment tests either, but are subject to random drug screens, spokesman Michael Thompson said via email.
The city of Tacoma tests everyone offered a job. All prospective city employees are required to pass a drug test, which screens for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP), and amphetamines.
Of 152 pre-employment physicals from the first eight months of this year, four did not pass the drug screen, said Human Resources Director Joy St. Germain in an email.
THE POT INDUSTRY
The cannabis industry itself may offer the best example of legalization and regulations colliding.
Emerald Leaves, a legal recreational marijuana shop on Tacomas Sixth Avenue, does not test employees for drugs.
Most of our employees smoke weed, said manager Danny Clark. We want them to be able to describe the product.
In fact, Clark said it would be a hindrance if a potential employee did not use cannabis products, he said.
Of businesses that still test employees, I feel like eventually thats going to go away as more states legalize marijuana.
On the other side is one of the clients of BBSI, whose placements, youll remember, need to pass a drug test.
A BBSI job posting online sought a front office worker a few months ago and offered a $16 per hour starting wage, full-time work and benefits.
The company? An unnamed recreational edible marijauna products producer.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: When A Weed-Friendly World Collides With Your Job Application
Author: Kate Martin
Contact: 253-597-8742
Photo Credit: Tony Overman
Website: The News Tribune
