Click to See Complete Forum and Search --> : How common is drug testing for in-house designer positions?
vectorman
10-30-2011, 08:43 PM
Just curious what others' experiences have been like :)
garricks
10-30-2011, 08:47 PM
Very common in health care.
I've never heard of it here in NZ, but I guess in healthcare it's a different story.
Cosmo
10-30-2011, 11:01 PM
I've never had a test in over 2 decades.
How common is drug testing for doctors?
morea
10-30-2011, 11:44 PM
Two of the last three companies I have worked for have required drug tests.
My comment is based on my sister (an RN for decades) who's career was almost destroyed when she formally complained against a doctor whom everyone else on staff knew was working while inebriated. The staff was also covering for the doctor's condition by intercepting errors -- many including prescriptions that would have seriously injured or killed patients.
For her whistleblowing, sis was suspended and dragged through about two years of court proceedings while the powerful doctor's association worked diligently at dragging up whatever they could possibly hurl at her to discredit her professionally. This put a tremendous strain on her and her family.
In the end, she prevailed. Got her full back pay, costs -- and the doctor lost practicing licence. (Briefly) Sis is now a nursing manager and has done very well.
I have a brother who works in med research at a big city hospital who's always saying that the worst substance abusers on the whole are doctors.
And yet people still rank doctors as one of the top professions when it comes to trust.
garricks
10-31-2011, 01:30 AM
Broacher, while I can't comment on that directly, I know that everyone in our health-care system is subject to random drug testing at any time, and passing a drug test is a mandatory condition of employment.
CCericola
11-02-2011, 01:35 AM
Just curious what others' experiences have been like :)
I think it depends on the company, not the position. I have worked for 3 banks. 2 required a drug test and credit check, 1 only required a credit check. It did not matter what job you had there.
PrintDriver
11-02-2011, 11:15 AM
Definitely depends on the company. I know some that are random and some that don't care as long as it doesn't happen on company property and doesn't interfere with you showing up for work.
Kinda goes hand in hand with how a company feels about you having a facebook page, I think. ;)
artistsdad
11-02-2011, 12:18 PM
Interesting. In the food service industry, it used to be the norm for any management position that involved handling cash. When I got out of the industry a few years ago, the number of drugs screened for had been dropping, and in many companies the requirement had disappeared completely due to too few applicants being able to pass the screening process...
Cosmo
11-02-2011, 12:30 PM
Definitely depends on the company. I know some that are random and some that don't care as long as it doesn't happen on company property and doesn't interfere with you showing up for work.
Kinda goes hand in hand with how a company feels about you having a facebook page, I think. ;)
Yeah, I think so. Of course, I run the Facebook page for the company and its sister company, so naturally whenever I'm on Facebook I'm "working"...
The Artist
11-02-2011, 12:34 PM
2.5 years here and have yet to had to pee in a cup or had blood pulled out of me. But then again, we live in Canada, and we're awesome ;) lol.
I would say it depends on the company.
garricks
11-02-2011, 12:48 PM
2.5 years here and have yet to had to pee in a cup or had blood pulled out of me. But then again, we live in Canada, and we're awesome ;) lol.
I would say it depends on the company.
They just follow you into the W.C. and grab a pube you left on the seat. :p
CCericola
11-02-2011, 12:55 PM
Interesting. In the food service industry, it used to be the norm for any management position that involved handling cash. When I got out of the industry a few years ago, the number of drugs screened for had been dropping, and in many companies the requirement had disappeared completely due to too few applicants being able to pass the screening process...
Actually I think it is more about the sharp increase in drug testing lab fees and MRO regulations. Companies are trying to cut spending and not spending thousands on testing fees is a way to stay in business.
The Artist
11-02-2011, 01:09 PM
They just follow you into the W.C. and grab a pube you left on the seat. :p
Wash-Chamber?
We call it a washroom here G ;)
But yes... yes that is possible... I was wondering how every time I left, some little guy ran into the stall and then run out... interesting...
BJMRamage
11-02-2011, 01:21 PM
Out of four designer positions:
First – pee test
Second – nothing
Third – pee test
Fourth (current) - background check
Probably had background checks at the second.
The second and fourth were/are in the financial/identity fields.
garricks
11-02-2011, 01:23 PM
Wash-Chamber?
We call it a washroom here G ;)
Water Closet. It's British English, I took a shot.
WC = Water Closet. An ancient term for bathroom popular when Gar was a lad ;)
KitchWitch
11-02-2011, 01:29 PM
WC = Water Closet. An ancient term for bathroom popular when Gar was a lad ;)
Hee hee hee, nice.
Yossarian
11-02-2011, 01:40 PM
Been in-house for 10 years. First at a small agency and now at a university. Never been tested or background checked. They started doing background checks about a year ago though.
PrintDriver
11-02-2011, 01:45 PM
background checks is a different matter.
almost everyone does those these days. Especially someone who has Install Teams, but they're so easy to get done, I wouldn't be surprised if most places didn't do them.
jimking
11-02-2011, 01:49 PM
In my line of work, digital prepress, I've been tested once. I do know many insurance companies give employers incentives and or discounts to test employees. Since the rates have sky rocketed both insurance costs and drug testing, my hunch, test requirements have been reduced. My wife takes very strong narcotics to treat her severe illness. Recently her doctor has required all her patients to take drug tests in order to see if they are complying. I asked how much is this going to cost, the response was $80. Her test came out good, she complies, our bill was $595. :(
PrintDriver
11-02-2011, 01:58 PM
They should eat the $515...
I had a dentist do that to me recently. Does insurance cover this crown? Why, yes, but you'll still have to pay $600. The bill came in at $825. Why? Because the insurance is some sort of pay-into plan and I had already reached the payout limit, which they should have known when they called it in. We're still arguing about the $225...
garricks
11-02-2011, 02:09 PM
Wow, really. They should eat that $515. Send 'em a check for $80 and tell them that's what they quoted you.
BJMRamage
11-02-2011, 02:26 PM
that stinks PD. I've heard of plans around here where once you reach a limit, your insurance pays the rest of your medical bills that year 100%.
Insurance is crazy. and knowing how the MVA/DMV and the government as a whole works I can only see it getting "better".
Bladez
11-02-2011, 02:36 PM
I've never been tested in the design industry. When I worked in the machine shop, I was only tested once, and that was after I rolled one of the company trucks. At the shop, they'd have somebody randomly show up, tap you on the shoulder while you were working, and test you. I only saw 1 guy loose his job because of the pee test. But he was one of the Rig drivers, and DOT doesn't take that stuff lightly. Most other people (who aren't driving the tools and equipment out to the field) would be offered a second chance if they agreed to go to counseling.
Once I left the shop, and got into printing and design, I was never asked again. However, one of the designers that used to work here, was required to take a drug test before starting as a designer at a different company.
Typically
11-02-2011, 02:41 PM
no piss test for me.
If they tested where I work there would be one person left. Literally.
Obsidian86
11-02-2011, 03:10 PM
Never been drug tested. Though I don't do any drugs.
The Artist
11-02-2011, 03:31 PM
if they tested where i work there would be one person left. Literally.
lol!
justdrawit
11-02-2011, 09:00 PM
If they tested where I work there would be one person left. Literally.
That made me chuckle. Many moons ago I worked as an house designer at a printer. At the time, we were producing tons of material for Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" anti drug campaign. Virtually everyone working there was as baked as a Poppin' Fresh pie, lol.
I've never been tested and never worked anywhere that they would test.
Employers don't seem to care about your background here. There was a guy that had been working with us for years. Had an IRD number, paid taxes etc. Then when he got sick and went to hospital, it turned out he had been living and working here illegally. Revenue seem to just give out IRD numbers to whoever wants them. I supposed if people want to pay tax no one is going to stop them.
By the way, hospital care is free here. Our taxes pay for them. So it would make sense that this guy who had been paying taxes for years got some healthcare. No.
Bladez
11-03-2011, 03:05 PM
That's they way healthcare works up there too, Buda. Americans seem to constantly joke about coming up here to see a Dr, because it's free. LOL
And who says Socialism doesn't work.....
darkwolf29a
11-03-2011, 03:31 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap0Ic_VPi20
Sorry, but I thought of this the moment I read the topic.
jimking
11-08-2011, 02:05 PM
That's they way healthcare works up there too, Buda. Americans seem to constantly joke about coming up here to see a Dr, because it's free. LOL
And who says Socialism doesn't work.....
Can a non Canandian tax payer, a U.S. citizen, really go to Canada and see a doctor for free? Nothing is free whether it be paying taxes for a service or paying a for-profit service out of pocket.
Bladez
11-08-2011, 03:27 PM
Kinda depends on the situation....
For a basic check up, no...you have to have your health care card with you (paid for with your taxes). If your an American and just go to a clinic, they'll bill you for it.
However, in the event of an emergency, like an American up here visiting friends gets into a nasty car wreck and has to be rushed to the hospital and cared for there, then as far as I know, they don't pay a dime. Don't quote me on that though. That's why it's more or less a joke I've heard from Americans. Not true to practice.
However, in the event of an emergency, like an American up here visiting friends gets into a nasty car wreck and has to be rushed to the hospital
Seems like Bladez has put a lot of thought in to this. *wanders off to rethink plans to visit Bladez...
TheBluePanda
11-08-2011, 04:17 PM
At my current job I had to get a drug test, fill out a 20-page document pertaining to my background, ethics interview, and they physically interviewed like 15 of my friends and family to verify facts and establish what kind of person I am. But thats the price you have to pay when getting a top secret clearance.
Bladez
11-08-2011, 04:21 PM
Seems like Bladez has put a lot of thought in to this. *wanders off to rethink plans to visit Bladez...
What ever do you mean, Lith??? I'm innocent!
*hides wire and bolt cutters*
jimking
11-08-2011, 04:35 PM
At my current job I had to get a drug test, fill out a 20-page document pertaining to my background, ethics interview, and they physically interviewed like 15 of my friends and family to verify facts and establish what kind of person I am. But thats the price you have to pay when getting a top secret clearance.
Especially after 9-11. I used to have a clearance many years ago working for the government in DC, left that job after 10 years, worked in the private sector (smart then, dumb now) and have heard that my clearance would mean a hill of beans now because of 9-11. Very tough to get now is what I've been told.
What about HGH? I heard about how many pro sport teams only use urine tests to drug test -- whereas HGH is only detectable via a blood test.
I suspect that the same standard is true for corporate drug testing. I say it's time we workers got big, big -- freaky big.
But what I want to get my hands on is IGH: Inhuman Growth Hormone.
On second thought, that might be a given for just about anyone in design.