Construction Jobs

Just wanted to write this to give a little warning to those who might try and get a job in construction. I do not know all the OSHA standard rules on drug testing so all I am going to just write from what I have seen. It is mandatory to be tested if you will be working construction out in the field. I for one did not get tested, :D, because I am only in the field on various occassions. However when I am in the office looking through faxes I notice that all of our standard dip tests, no matter negative or positive, are sent out to Quest Diagnostics for the lower cutoff level test. I know this because I sometimes see the sheets that have the results, from the onsite dip stick, written by the Foreman and then I see the sheets I mentions to verify the test as well as a bill that is about $100 per person to test. Just giving a heads up that from what I have seen you are gonna have to pass both the 50 ng/ml cutoff and the 15.

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Originally Posted by nugget3581

Just wanted to write this to give a little warning to those who might try and get a job in construction. I do not know all the OSHA standard rules on drug testing so all I am going to just write from what I have seen. It is mandatory to be tested if you will be working construction out in the field. I for one did not get tested, :D, because I am only in the field on various occassions. However when I am in the office looking through faxes I notice that all of our standard dip tests, no matter negative or positive, are sent out to Quest Diagnostics for the lower cutoff level test. I know this because I sometimes see the sheets that have the results, from the onsite dip stick, written by the Foreman and then I see the sheets I mentions to verify the test as well as a bill that is about $100 per person to test. Just giving a heads up that from what I have seen you are gonna have to pass both the 50 ng/ml cutoff and the 15.

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OSHA doesn't regulate whether a construction worker is drug tested or not tested.
The company you work for dictates if employees are drug tested and sets the rules, pre-employment, randoms, etc.
ALL contractors working for the Federal Gov't. must have a program for a "drug free work place" in place.
Most contractors that I have work for and with, have a drug testing policy that only tests for drugs in case of an accident.
Some companies like, "the King of Beers" company has a policy that says if a contractor works on their property, all construction workers must pass a drug test before being allowed to work on the premises and proof the test was passed must be submitted before any workers may work on the site.
They aren't the only ones with that rule. The list is growing everyday.
So to sum it up. Just because you are a construction worker doesn't mean you will have to pass a drug test to work for them. I worked in the construction field for over 20 years and was never tested.
I left the field and went to a plant to work and had to pass a hair test before I was hired. 10 years ago they gave a urine test, now they give a hair test.
In closing in this post........it's all about insurance. If a company shows there compensation policy holder that they have a drug testing program, they get a cut on their insurance rate. It seems insurance companies think you are more likely to be injured on the job if you are stoned. I agree, but don't think they need to know if I smoked 30-90 days ago. What would be a fairer drug policy is if they had a test that showed if you were under the influence at the time. So far they don't, at least for drugs.

Good info 1tokeoverthelin, Heres a few rep points for You.

Thanks for clarifying the OSHA aspect of it. Like I said I wasnt sure with that part because that is not my area. However I work for a pretty large company and I am guessing that any large company in the business will go through the troubles of testing like my company does so they can get a better insurance rate.