Companies Are Backing Off On Drug-Testing

A Gallup poll last October found that 64 percent of Americans favor legalization of pot. That’s the most since Gallup first started asking the question back in 1969, when only 12 percent supported legalization. Drug tests costs from $30 to $50 a pop, but the potential costs to an employer are far greater than the actual test, says an article form Insurance Journal. “Drug testing restricts the job pool, and in the current tight labor market, that’s having an impact on productivity and growth. In surveys done by the Federal Reserve last year, employers cited an inability by applicants to pass drug tests among reasons for difficulties in hiring.” The trend is not across the board, however. Some companies, including Ford and Burger King, have bucked it, and some jobs – like operating machinery – will probably always require testing.