How Long Does Pre-employment Drug Screening Take

Employees play the most crucial role in every company and organization, which is why hiring managers need to use preventive services to ensure they are hiring the right candidates.

One cost-effective service that recruiters can take advantage of to hire top talents is pre-employment drug screening.

As an employer, it is better to implement pre-employment drug tests to reduce future extra costs, save more time, and hire the best candidates.

Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you are an employer who wants to implement this test or a candidate being asked to take this test; you need to know how long it takes to get the drug test results.

We are here to answer your questions about pre-employment drug screening, discuss how many days you should wait to get the results, and any other related questions you may have.

What Is a Pre-employment Drug Test?

A pre-employment drug test is one of the common requirements for different jobs that determine if the job candidate uses drugs or any kind of prescription medicines.

These tests are becoming popular because they reduce workplace drug use and can prevent many possible future issues in the work environment.

A pre-employment drug screening can also be used for those employees who want to work again after coming back from an injury or a long absence. 

Most employers use these tests to ensure they hire healthy people who can create a safe workplace for every team member.

There are different types of drug tests that recruiters determine the most suitable one to use; however, most tests detect the presence of cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), marijuana, opiates, amphetamines, and methamphetamine.

Importance of Drug Screening

Based on valid reports, employees who use drugs are more likely to show up late, miss work, cause workplace accidents, frequently change their jobs, etc.

That is why pre-employment drug screening is essential for work environment safety; these tests also help employers and managers handle their teams more easily.

Note that some companies and industries must implement these tests before hiring employees. For example, transportation organizations need to have a routine drug screening before hiring drivers.

Different Types of Drug Tests

As mentioned earlier, there are different types of drug tests that employers can choose from. Each test has various features, which we will explain in the following section.

1- Urine testing

This type of drug test offers the fastest turnaround time among all types, and most drug screen laboratories can prepare a drug screen result in one or two business days.

Note that the negative or positive results may affect the time that the lab provide the test results. For example, for negative urine tests, employers will get the results in three days; however, positive tests might take four to five business days.

2- Blood testing

Blood tests are not among the most popular drug tests because drugs are not detectable in the blood system after 48 hours, so the test results won’t be valid.

The final results of blood tests would be available quickly in almost 24 hours; however, it can take up to 48 hours if the specimen needs to be delivered to a lab.

3- Hair testing

This test is less invasive than other kinds of drug tests and can determine drug use up to 90 days before the test date, which is why many companies choose hair testing as pre-employment drug screening.

However, it has some disadvantages, such as the test results taking more time than urine or blood tests. Labs usually provide the test results in five to ten business days.

Factors Affecting the Duration of Pre-Employment Drug Test Results

There are different factors that affect how long it takes to get the final result of pre-employment drug tests. Let’s examine them.

The type of the drug test

You learned the three major types of drug tests in the previous section. You should note that most employers use a standard drug test called the “five-panel test” as pre-employment drug screening, which checks the sample of PCP, cocaine, marijuana, amphetamines, and opiates.

This test usually takes one to five days. However, we already discussed the normal waiting days you should expect for each test type.

So, if an employer decides to use a ten-panel test, which also screens for alcohol, methadone, barbiturates, etc., you should expect one or two extra days to get the results.

Negative or positive results

It is interesting to know that the outcome of the drug test can influence the turnaround. If the test result is negative, the final results will be available within almost three business days.

On the other side, if the drug test comes back with positive results, lab doctors are usually required to do some additional testing to ensure the final results. In such cases, it may take up to five business days for employers to have the results.

The laboratory

By now, you should know that three to five business days is what you should expect to get the test results, but the lab you select to work with can impact how many days you should wait.

You can consult the turnaround time with your selected lab because it takes longer to prepare the tests for some labs, so if you are in a hurry, you have to look for an experienced laboratory to get the results as soon as possible.

Conducting a Pre-Employment Drug Test

There are a few steps you need to take before starting a drug screening plan at your company.

Step 1- You need to put the drug test policy and procedure in a way that aligns with all state laws.

Step 2- Notify your employees about your intention to conduct pre-employment or any random drug tests.

Step 3- Remember to obtain all written consents. When you order a drug test, the employees will receive an email asking for consent to be tested; you should obtain this consent.

Step 4- When the applicant approves the consent, you need to choose a drug test website, which helps the employee to follow the given instructions to take the test.

Step 5- Applicants should bring their photo ID and any prescriptions they take to the site to reduce the risk of false positive results.

Step 6- To ensure you will get the correct and valid results, a medical review officer recheck the test results.

Step 7- Both of you and the candidate will get the results within one to three days.

Step 8- Now that you have the test results, it is time to decide whether you want to hire the candidate based on the pre-employment drug test results or not.

FAQs

1- Can I retake a pre-employment drug test?

You can not retake a pre-employment drug test, but you have the right to ask for a retest; however, you must pay for the retest.

Note that, when you fail a drug test, you can ask the lab to retest it, but you can not provide a new sample.

2- Can I still get hired if I fail a drug test?

It depends on your employer and their drug and alcohol policy because some organizations have hard policies on these tests, and if you fail, they will not give you a second chance.

Conclusion

As mentioned earlier, employees are an important part of any company, which is why most hiring managers don’t go easy on candidates while hiring.

Recruiters use pre-employment drug tests to avoid making poor hiring decisions that endanger the whole team.

Therefore, if you want to hire top talents while creating a safe workplace or a candidate who has been asked to take a pre-employment drug test, we highly recommend conducting a pre-employment drug screening to ensure you choose the right applicants.