Kay Lumas

Drug Testing in the Workplace- a Pilot Study on Trace Detection Technology Kay Lumas

Recognizing that alcohol and drug use in the workplace is a significant social and economic problem, various forms of drug testing have been branded as the solutions to a safer and more productive work environment. In this determined drive to find a userfriendly and accurate substance use detection strategy, a variety of drug testing procedures have been developed and used with varying consistently across industry groups. One such method, trace detection technology, however, has been employed in spite of the paucity of empirical evidence to validate its use as a stand-alone screening system for drug detection. Furthermore, research on the impact of false positive results of trace detection technology is extremely limited amidst a climate in many locales in which it is regularly used. With trace detection technology being used extensively in both the private and public sectors for drug screening purposes, the objectives of this research were twofold: To examine the efficacy of trace detection technology as a stand alone method of drug testing by exploring the lived experiences of commercial truck drivers who have experienced false-positive drug test results firsthand; and to explore the emotional and physical impact of false-positive test results generated by this technology on the individual commercial truck driver. The results from this research have broad implications for general workforces subject to periodic or scheduled drug screening, for law enforcement professionals who rely on a detection strategy that can produce false positive outcomes, for the legal community seeking understanding of this technology application, and for social science professionals who seek to pursue a provocative research topic.