Re: Ethics and drug tests

[Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

>Speaking of drug tests, I was not considered for a full-time position on
> an extremely successful project because it was company policy to not
hire
> tobacco users (to lower health premiums).  I liked the people in the
> department of the company I worked in, but who would want to work for a
> company like that?  
> Non-smokers should not be quick to leap on this one.  Consider what 
> could be next, overweight (unhealthy), congenital anomalies, Type A 
> personalities, ex-postal workers?
> 
> I could've sued, but what good would it have done?

Nothing, the company had a right to reject you. 

Apart from the obvious (race, sex, creed, etc.) there are lots of
perfectly viable reasons companies can discriminate against you. That's
the nature of any business. They are always going to evaluate people to
determine who is the ideal fit for a job. Companies have a right to be
picky about who they hire. 

All of this comes down to decisions. We all make decisions in our lives.
If you don't like the consequences of your decisions, then maybe you
should make different decisions. If you smoke weed everyday, that has
consequences. One of them is that some companies will not hire you for a
job. Period. If that bothers you, then don't apply for jobs at companies
that demand a piss test. Nobody is FORCING you to smoke weed or work at a
company that requires piss tests. 

And don't give me the "well what does this have to do with the quality of
my work." It has a lot to do with your fitting in with a team. Hiring
people is not as simple as matching requirements to skills. Part of any
decent HR hiring procedure is finding out what a person is like and
deciding if they will fit into the team. 

If your team consists of ardent non-smokers, then hiring a smoker who is
running outside every hour to puff would be a disruption. If a company
decides that they want to save money on health care costs by not hiring
smokers - they have that right. There are plenty of people, like myself
who will take a piss test, get the job, and live happily ever after. 

Stomping your feet and demanding the company change just for you isn't
going to happen. The world, last I checked, does not revolve around you,
me, or any one person.

Andrew Plato 

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