Every drug test made invades your private life to some extent. Of course, your employer wants to know if you are taking any illegal substances, if you are under the effect of anything while performing your duty. But some tests go beyond just a simple drug check – they can show if a woman is pregnant, if a person is on any prescribed medications, even consumption of alcohol, which for some people constitutes a good percent of the past time. These and other things are not a necessity for an employer to know – the only thing they should be concerned about is an employee’s productivity and possibility of any accidents that might be possible die to drug usage. The rest is your private life.

Unfortunately, in today’s market it is not in our favor to choose between employers and really, one cannot afford to fight for their privacy rights at a cost of his/her job. Your employer should notify you when first applying for a job: what kind of test they will need you to undergo, when and how it will happen. If the company practices random testing, it will be stated so in the documents you receive when applying for a job. Also, you can refer to an employee manual – it should be mentioned there too, along with all details about the testing procedure.

Before the test, you will be asked if you are taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicine, and they’ll give you a form to fill out. Make sure to put everything that you’re currently taking, unless using a detox product that will provide a pure sample – in that case it might raise suspicion: mentioned pain reliever will not show up on the test results. Be careful, and do not sign any form that would allow your employer to request your medical records – that information should never be released to your workplace and is a total confidentiality between you and your medical provider.