Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Hi all,

My employer said when i arrive in the US they we perform drug screening and background check. Which I am fine with.

Is this common practice in the US?

Ive never been in trouble or anything of the sort. But how would a background check work? Police ACRO? Which i know no one can access but me anyway.

I am only a engineer"

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Drug tests are extremely common at all levels. Nothing to be concerned about. The background check is also very common at all levels and usually consists of searching public records for any criminal convictions, and perhaps looking at social media. In your case unless they employ a lot of international staff I suspect they will search US records only for criminal convictions. All of this is pretty standard HR on boarding stuff, nothing to be concerned about.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Thanks once a again GG.

I have been told they will do a DBS check on me, Ive never even had to do that in the UK. Only 1 other foreigner working at my new employers, bit strange.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Its normal, even for engineers. You have the added benefit of knowing that everyone else at your office/plant also has been drug tested/background check.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

I never thought of it like that, but makes sense. I assume the will do a basic CRB/DBS check or something? I didn't release a non UK form could do this. I offered to get a ACRO but i think they are following procedure and have to procure the original themselves

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

For jobs in financial services the FINRA U4 require fingerprinting for a FBI check.

Many firms also have a ongoing surveillance program to look for issues after onboarding. Providers like www.callmis.com do that.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

US firms even require employees of UK firms making parts for many US firms to have pre employment drug screens as well, all due to the litigious way things happen in the US.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

A lot of places near me have stopped the practice, or restrict it for very specific roles, even the local government no longer does it apart from heavy vehicle drivers, they could not get the staff.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

I worked in Scunthorpe, and there was a firm there making specialised brake parts for US cars, all their potential employees had to undergo drug testing before employment, we did the tests, found a few, usually cannabis. I asked the firm what they did about the positives, their comments was that they were never interviewed, the checks were all part of a preemployment check, on the shortlist.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

I also had to have a credit check (along with fresh background/drug screen) before I could take my current role on promotion with the same employer

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

I worked for a US charity. They do a background check, in particular because of safeguarding/child protection requirements. No drug screen though.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Each US employer I've had (financial) has asked for address history and upon seeing a UK address have sent me release forms for them to conduct a UK background check. The large background check companies operate worldwide and are licensed in the UK.

I've also had to pee in a cup and have a credit check, though the credit check is more for checking bad credit (defaults, bankruptcies) rather than making sure your score is good.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Frankly the US one is nothing to be concerned about. I've been through UK Developed Vetting, and that's a lot less fun.

Although I can't imagine that the US equivalent, TS/SCI is any more fun.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Was this to test your aim?

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

:lol:

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Credit check for employment purposes is discriminatory in many States.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Thankfully not :o

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

There are always exclusions

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

I’ve never had to take an employment drug test, nor would I want to work for an employer that required one. This is for software development jobs in California. I have had cursory background checks done but they never went as far as pursuing non-US records. Lots of state-specific laws about what is/isn’t legal in pre-employment screening.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

You won't be getting much more than a minimum wage job in NC without a drug test.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

That doesn’t surprise me… just one more reason I wouldn’t live in NC.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

What's the big deal? It's nice to know that you aren't working with a bunch of convicted felons.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Pot is legal in many states and would fail many such tests… so the felon bit is a straw man.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Clearly, I'm referring to background checks when I'm referring to felons.

Without going any research, I assume that employers in the states in which it is legal do not check for the presence of a legal substance any more than they check for alcohol (or they disregard a positive for such a substance)

Either way I still don't see what the problem is. An employer is allowed to determine, within the law, who they want working for them.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

i didn’t express any objection to background checks…

I think the pot thing is a grey area in many states with employment law not having caught up to state pot laws. It’s complicated by the fact that it’s still illegal at the federal level.

Anyway my point is that testing for pot - which many employers do - is ridiculous if you’re not screening for alcohol and tobacco use. At the very least I’d advise people to see what they are being screened for.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Based on what are you making that assertion? The former is illegal in most of the Us, the later are not.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

I don't know why they bother. I saw the results of the background check for my last move and the external company made multiple mistakes, however I guess it ticked some HR box.
It is shocking how incompetent they can be. (the company doing the check).

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

In only 4 states is marijuana fully illegal. In a further 7 CBD is legal and THC illegal, in 2 it's decriminalized, in 9 medical marijuana is legal, in 10 medical is legal and it's decriminalized and in 17 it's fully legal. So I disagree with your assertion:

https://disa.com/map-of-marijuana-legality-by-state

So what's the purpose of screening for marijuana? If it's fitness for the job, then why aren't they testing for alcohol and tobacco use as well? If it's because it's illegal, well it simply isn't in most of the US. And if it's because of some notion that marijuana use indicates that a job candidate is likely to be a lawbreaker, I will simply shake my head.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Why tobacco?

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Increases an employer’s healthcare costs disproportionately.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

So nothing related to why a drug test is typically performed as part of pre-employment screening.

For what its worth every US employer myself or my wife has had has increased premiums for tobacco users.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Tobacco users have higher rates of medical absences. It’s not just about premium costs.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Drug tests are to test for illicit drugs. If you don't have a prescription for medical pot (which you can prove, obviously) and it is not legal for recreational use in your state it is, by definition, an illicit drug.

No different than if you are taking loratabs without a prescription.

I don't see what the problem is. If you are saying that it shouldn't be considered an illicit drug then your problem is with state law, not the company seeking a pre-employment drug screen.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

There are an awful lot of things that are “illicit”. Why the fixation specifically on marijuana use?
And to use your example, do employers test for Loratabs and demand to see a prescription if detected? Ditto for a zillion other drugs that require a prescription?

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

I can’t speak for other employers, but mine asks for proof of any prescriptions that are used to refute a positive result.

Because that’s what we were discussing specifically earlier in the thread….

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

If I was employing drivers or employees operating heavy/complex machinery I would want to test them for anything that may impair their skills. That would be for their own safety and the safety of others.

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

So any alcohol use then?

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

So they test for any and all prescription drugs to make sure you’re not using any “illicitly”?

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

Clearly not. However most tests do check for the obvious ones that cause a 'high' and therefore are more commonly abused.

Since alcolhol is legal, no.

So let's clear this up - your position is that there should be no drugs screening? Or that they should be screening for other things? If so, what?

Re: Drug screening & background check. Confused
 

so not about “illicit” drug use then but those that cause a “high”…

oh but alcohol causes a “high” and is much more widely abused than marijuana….

I think my position is pretty clear , namely that testing for marijuana is absurd when there is no testing for alcohol use. I realize it’s going to take a while for the predictable set of states to legalize marijuana but thankfully most of the country is there or on the way. So even this “illicit” argument - which is itself inconsistent - is going away.