View Full Version : employer drug testing
I've found out today I was turned down for a job I'd recently applied for due to my failing a drugs test.
I know I'm taking powerful drugs - codeine and tramadol but they are prespection medication and I produced them at the medical assessment, the examiner made a note of them and I assumed everything would be ok. I was told if anything shows up in my system which appears on their banned list, I would be fine as long as I have a prescription.
The problem now is apparently it's company policy for them not to give any indication of the test other than a pass or fail.
Other than writing a grovelling letter to them (which I'm really not inclined to do) does anyone know if there's a way of finding out what went wrong?
DocDutch
27-11-2008, 16:22
is it just failed on the drugs test or it might be more, you should ask the HR department for more disclosure on the interview and the grounds that you didnt get the job.
Saaf_laandon_mo
27-11-2008, 16:23
Can't you make them give you information they hold about you under the Data Protection Act? Are you taking any other meds which arent precribed, which could have had a positive effect on a drugs test, because you are taking it in conjunction with your other meds.
I think it's pretty harsh for them not to tell you why you failed, they are implying you have a drug problem, and that could be detrimental to your character.
demented
27-11-2008, 16:25
I'd write to their HR department complaining. Outline more or less what you've just said that you produced the evidence of your medication and that there is no evidence to support that they hadn't made an admin error i.e. you were told you'd be fine if you had a prescription.
You could use a data protection act request to get the information. It's not a reference so in theory you should be able to get the information. Is that right?
To be honest it doesn't really sound like a company worth working for that (a) worries about such things (b) is so incompetant.
Can't you make them give you information they hold about you under the Data Protection Act? Are you taking any other meds which arent precribed, which could have had a positive effect on a drugs test, because you are taking it in conjunction with your other meds.
I think it's pretty harsh for them not to tell you why you failed, they are implying you have a drug problem, and that could be detrimental to your character.
It's annoying because they told me I really stood out during the application process. I blew everyone else out of the water during the technical assessments, my interview went well and all references were top-class.
The only other tablets I'm taking are general health ones, such as vitamins, fish oil etc.
I guess this will teach me to be cocky but I really assumed I'd had this job all sewn up - that was based on the feedback I'd had.
I had to sign some sort of disclaimer before I took the medical, stupidly I didn't read it but come to think of it I think it did have something saying they don't have to give a reason for the result.
I don't really want to write to them grovelling because I'm so angry with them - they are an international company and you will all have heard of them. I don't want to name them (yet) in case it causes trouble but it's left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Other than writing a grovelling letter to them (which I'm really not inclined to do) does anyone know if there's a way of finding out what went wrong?
Codeine and Tramadol are opiates, and so biologically cousins to Heroin. Their tests might not be sophisticated enough to tell the difference.
There are other options. The sample might have become contaminated or an administration mistake. The testers may not have been made aware of your perscription medications and so didn't take that into account.
Codeine and Tramadol are opiates, and so biological cousins to Heroin. Their tests might not be sophisticated enough to tell the difference.
There are other options. The sample might have become contaminated or an administration mistake. The testers may not have been made aware of your perscription medications and so didn't take that into account.
I brough the tablet boxes along with me, on the side of each is the pharmacist's sticker showing I'm entitled to take them. They took copies of the stickers and attached them to my notes. I'm aware of the tablets' potency and their connections to heroin which is why I made such an effort to be upfront with them. But they did say it would be fine as long as I was entitled to them - and I am.
If it was a case of them confusing the drugs with heroin etc then it makes me wonder what sort of people are conducting their tests.
demented
27-11-2008, 16:42
Writing to them is not grovelling. You are complaining about the process - it is not open, you produced evidence to explain anomalies, the company have not produced any evidence to suggest they carried things out properly or took your medication into account.
Did you take a B sample some time later?
I brough the tablet boxes along with me, on the side of each is the pharmacist's sticker showing I'm entitled to take them. They took copies of the stickers and attached them to my notes. I'm aware of the tablets' potency and their connections to heroin which is why I made such an effort to be upfront with them. But they did say it would be fine as long as I was entitled to them - and I am.
What I am saying is the laboratory may not made aware you was taking medication and so couldn't take it into account. The people administrating the testing (from your prospective employers point of view) wouldn't have a medical background and so wouldn't take it into account either.
If it was a case of them confusing the drugs with heroin etc then it makes me wonder what sort of people are conducting their tests.
I'm not an expert (need Salu) but it might be impossible to tell heroin and codeine once its broken down in the blood stream or urine.
Saaf_laandon_mo
27-11-2008, 16:47
I brough the tablet boxes along with me, on the side of each is the pharmacist's sticker showing I'm entitled to take them. They took copies of the stickers and attached them to my notes. I'm aware of the tablets' potency and their connections to heroin which is why I made such an effort to be upfront with them. But they did say it would be fine as long as I was entitled to them - and I am.
If it was a case of them confusing the drugs with heroin etc then it makes me wonder what sort of people are conducting their tests.
They might not be aware of the link between your meds and heroin? Which would question the standard of the tester. I think it's worth writing a letter to ask how they reached their conclusion, and whether your prescriptions were taken into account.
Wicked_and_Crazy
27-11-2008, 16:49
The problem now is apparently it's company policy for them not to give any indication of the test other than a pass or fail.
They can't do that, the Data PRotection Act see's to that. Even if the information about you is subjective they have to provide it and substantiate their reasons
---------- Post added at 16:49 ---------- Previous post was at 16:47 ----------
It's annoying because they told me I really stood out during the application process.
So you failed the Viagra test??
I brough the tablet boxes along with me, on the side of each is the pharmacist's sticker showing I'm entitled to take them. They took copies of the stickers and attached them to my notes. I'm aware of the tablets' potency and their connections to heroin which is why I made such an effort to be upfront with them. But they did say it would be fine as long as I was entitled to them - and I am.
If it was a case of them confusing the drugs with heroin etc then it makes me wonder what sort of people are conducting their tests.
Didn't they ask for access to your medical notes via your doctor? :confused:
demented
27-11-2008, 16:50
Didn't they ask for access to your medical notes via your doctor? :confused:
That one would probably have been very problematic indeed.
That one would probably have been very problematic indeed.
Why? It would have proved beyond doubt that Russ was given the drugs on prescription...:confused:
Didn't they ask for access to your medical notes via your doctor? :confused:
No, nothing like that.
No, nothing like that.
Then frankly I think very little of them for just relying on a drugs test...:erm:
demented
27-11-2008, 16:59
Why? It would have proved beyond doubt that Russ was given the drugs on prescription...:confused:
Absolutely it would. The problem is getting hold of the notes would take potentially a very long time. I say this as someone who used to work in medical records. Often records are incomplete and held in different places and hard to track down.
I think the problem here is the burden of proof. If russ had been stopped by the police as say he'd had the hypothetical example of carrying his medication on him, the police would probably have been more than satisfied to take the pharmacists label and details that he was using prescription drugs. In other spheres of sports drugs testing I believe producing medication and prescription is deemed enough evidence. I don't really see why russ should have to go further.
I think a DPA application and a letter to HR saying you have no faith in the process is the way to go. I certainly think you should write off but it's upto you. I understand if you feel bummed out about it.
Then frankly I think very little of them for just relying on a drugs test...:erm:
Thinking about it, if they believed something was in my sample that wasn't actually there, and they checked my medical notes and found it (obviously) that it wasn't prescribed, that might have merely reinforced their 'findings'.
Thinking about it, if they believed something was in my sample that wasn't actually there, and they checked my medical notes and found it (obviously) that it wasn't prescribed, that might have merely reinforced their 'findings'.
Precisely! Very sloppy of them...:erm:
I'm not an expert (need Salu) but it might be impossible to tell heroin and codeine once its broken down in the blood stream or urine.
Thinking about it, if they believed something was in my sample that wasn't actually there, and they checked my medical notes and found it (obviously) that it wasn't prescribed, that might have merely reinforced their 'findings'.
Like Punky, I'm not an expert either, but according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codeine#Pharmacology) Codeine breaks down/converts to other substances, 1 of which is Morphine, which might have been what caused you to fail. [especially if, as someone else suggested, there's been a failure in communication WRT your prescribed meds]
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