# I Violate my Principles for a Job **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 9, 2004, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-violate-my-principles-for-a-job/239104 "2004-04-09T03:00:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-violate-my-principles-for-a-job/239104/161 "2004-04-12T21:04:42Z")
> [@LolaBaby](#): > > See, due to my pregnancy last year, I had to pee in a cup every visit to the doctor. And I’d venture to say it’s much harder to pee in a cup when you are female. 😃 And I imagine it’s near impossible when you are a _pregnant_ female. You have absolutely no chance at all of seeing what you’re doing. 😛 Sometimes I’m grateful to be a guy. ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-violate-my-principles-for-a-job/239104/162 "2004-04-12T21:17:32Z")
> [@Algernon](#): > > In your original comment, I thought you came to the conclusion that the testing lab workers had an assumption-of-guilt attitude. I was just curious about how you came to your conclusion because I come to the opposite conclusion. Most of the work that the testing lab does is pre-employement or random screening. If I’m a lab worker, the vast majority of the people who walk through my door are clean. Therefore, if I were to make any assumptions at all, it would be that the odds that the next person who walked through the door would also be clean. An assumption of innocence, not guilt. YMMV. Yeah, YMMV. Around here, the same companies that do the pre-employment screening also do a lot of testing for people who are undergoing court-ordered drug treatment (among other things – they also do bloodwork and urinalysis for doctor’s offices though this won’t usually involve drug testing). I’m not positive, but the labs may also do drug tests for people on probation. For the record, I don’t think that most lab technicians assume that anyone is a drug user, but it should be pointed out that the percentage of total positive tests is almost certainly higher than the percentage for only pre-employment testing because the reason some people are taking the tests is because they were arrested for drug-related crimes. In other words, the clean people may be a majority but I certainly wouldn’t call it a vast majority. > [@](#): > > …in case my opinion is lost in the dim history of this thread, I am not against pre-employment screening but do not support random screening of existing employees To me, this seems like an odd and inconsistent position to take. It’s ok for a drug user to have a job, but not for a drug user to get a job? ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-violate-my-principles-for-a-job/239104/163 "2004-04-12T21:46:31Z")
> [@theR](#): > > In other words, the clean people may be a majority but I certainly wouldn’t call it a vast majority. Could be. I was basing my opinion on the web site I linked to where they provided percentages of positive results on screenings. > [@](#): > > [Regarding Algernon’s non-opposition to pre-employment screening, but opposition to random on-the-job screening…]To me, this seems like an odd and inconsistent position to take. It’s ok for a drug user to have a job, but not for a drug user to get a job? I can see how this might seem inconsistent. I’m pragmatic (some would say to a fault). Let me see if I can explain myself. Pre-employment screening is simply an attempt by employers to avoid hiring a “bad employee”. The employer knows virtually nothing about this potential employee, so they’re using just another piece of data (besides the resume, references, background criminal checks, etc.) to try and make a good hire. (Whether or not the pre-screening is effective is a whole 'nother question of course. ) On-the-job random drug testing is nothing more than a witch hunt\*. I believe that people who already have the job should be judged on their ability to perform their job to the expected standards. The employer already knows a lot about the employee’s performance. Whether or not they light up on the weekend is indeed unnecessary information. I guess to summarize, my support or lack thereof is based on the intent of the testing. \*However, for positions of public safety, I _do_ support random drug testing. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-violate-my-principles-for-a-job/239104/164 "2004-04-12T22:02:53Z")
> [@LolaBaby](#): > > …and as usual, **Algernon** states what I want to say, only much more eloquently. 😃 (I don’t know how I missed this before.) Thank you **Lola**. I’m flattered. Though sometimes a good “shit happens” is more effective than my supposed eloquence. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-violate-my-principles-for-a-job/239104/165 "2004-04-13T02:21:09Z")
To clarify: my negative experience surrounding a drug screening happened many years after I had formed my political and moral objection to them. It may be that this experience confirmed that stance of mine, but it was not in any way part of its formation. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-violate-my-principles-for-a-job/239104/166 "2004-04-13T12:53:33Z")
Whether or not a particular drug screening is fun or not is not the issue. The issue really is the ugliness of the mindset that requires drug screenings without probable cause. It views everyone as a felon who must prove innocence. I should like to live in a society where people generally are viewed as being somehow different from prisoners. I don’t. The way to change that is not to blow a chance at a job, it’s to go after your elected representatives and really get on their case. Lots of letters, emails and phone calls. Also, go after the political party of your choice. If they get a sense that the tide is turning on drug screening, it may become a plank in their platform. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-violate-my-principles-for-a-job/239104.md?page=8)