A record number of American workers are cheating on employer drug tests by manipulating urine samples or using other means to avoid detection, new research finds.
According to Quest Diagnostics, a national drug testing company, the percentage of employees who attempted to falsify workplace drug test results increased sixfold in 2023 compared to the previous year.
The increase in workers trying to hide their drug use is coming more US states legalize the recreational use of marijuana. The changing legal environment and changing social norms around cannabis use are forcing employers to review their drug testing policies. The primary purpose of employer-mandated drug testing is to ensure a safe workplace, while recreational drug use can also affect worker productivity.
“Workforce drug testing exists because it's intended as a deterrence mechanism,” Dr. Suhash Harwani, senior director of science for occupational health solutions at Quest, told CBS MoneyWatch. “That's why it was founded: to ensure workplace safety.”
Quest's analysis of laboratory data also found that the drug positivity rate for the total US workforce remained at an all-time high of 4.6%, up from a low of 3.5% between 2010 and 2012.
From April 2024, recreational Marijuana is legal in 24 statesor nearly half the country, according to the Pew Research Center.
How workers cheat
Workers typically use one of two methods to thwart an employer's drug testing protocols: substitute urine samples with synthetic formulas or even animal urine, or submit invalid samples, suggesting they had been manipulated to hide drug use.
“Given the growing acceptance and use of some drugs, particularly marijuana, it may not be surprising that some people feel the need to try to cheat a drug test,” Dr. Harwani said in a statement. “It is possible that the normalization of drug use in our society is fostering environments in which some employees feel it is acceptable to use these drugs without truly understanding the impact they have on workplace safety.”
Some experts expressed concern about the findings, saying they underscore the need for improved drug testing policies and procedures.
“Drug testing is an important tool employers have to keep everyone safe in communities,” Katie Mueller, senior program director at the National Safety Council, told CBS MoneyWatch. “When policy and procedure fails us or people make decisions to alter their evidence for whatever reason, it puts everyone at risk.”
Regarding the growing push to legalize cannabis, Mueller added that “we need to have a really open dialogue with employees, employers and lawmakers about the impacts of legalization and how it's seeping into the work placement”.
Dr. Harwani said there may be better ways to test employees and job candidates for drug use than relying on urine samples. For example, the US Department of Transportation recently approved oral fluid testing for drug use in addition to using urine samples.
While urine samples are presented in a private space, oral fluids are collected directly by laboratory technicians. And while the drugs may take some time to show up in a donor's urine sample, they can be detected in saliva immediately after use.
