HRM textbook

202 PART 2 RECRUITMENT, PLACEMENT, AND TALENT MANAGEMENT
FIGURE 6-10 The Uptight
Personality
Source: www.graphicinsight.co.za/
writingsamples.htm#The%20Uptight%
20Personality%2, accessed March 28,
2009. Used with permission of www.
graphicinsight.co.za.
should consider in placing him or her, and to establish a baseline for future insurance or
workers compensation claims. By identifying health problems, the examination can also
reduce absenteeism and accidents and, of course, detect communicable diseases.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, an employer cannot reject someone
with a disability if he or she is otherwise qualified and can perform the essential job
functions with reasonable accommodation. Recall that the ADA permits a medical
exam during the period between the job offer and commencement of work if such
exams are standard practice for all applicants for that job category. 113
Substance Abuse Screening
Many employers conduct drug screenings. The most common practice is to test
candidates just before they re formally hired. Many also test current employees
when there is reason to believe the person has been using drugs after a work
accident, or in the presence of obvious behavioral symptoms such as chronic
lateness. Some firms routinely administer drug tests on a random or periodic basis,
while others require drug tests when they transfer or promote employees to new
positions. 114 Employers may use urine testing to test for illicit drugs, breath alcohol
tests to determine amount of alcohol in the blood, blood tests to measure alcohol
or drug in the blood at the time of the test, hair analyses to reveal drug history,
saliva tests for substances such as marijuana and cocaine, and skin patches to
determine drug use. 115
SOME PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS Drug testing, while ubiquitous, is
neither as simple nor effective as it might first appear. First, no drug test is foolproof.
Some urine sample tests can t distinguish between legal and illegal substances; for
example, Advil can produce positive results for marijuana. Furthermore, there is a
swarm of products that promise to help employees (both male and female) beat drug