Were there always drug tests administered at job environment? The need for responsible and comprehensive workers is very clear, but isn’t a drug test too personal and invades too much privacy? Well, consider a lie detector test as an alternative – now this is truly intrusive.
Formally known as polygraphs, these tests were quite popular in private sector job testing back in the 1980s. The device could detect untruthful answers by measuring changes in blood pressure, pulse rate, perspiration, etc. of a person being questioned. In most cases the polygraph test was used more as a scare crow, although some cases bring very controversial and heated issue of self-incrimination. When a person is familiar with the testing procedure and knows that the truth will be discovered anyway, employee normally just blurs out the confession right away. But what if there is nothing to confess about and a person is just nervous and is asked personal questions that he or she might not be comfortable with, how is it possible to distinguish a true lie from jumping blood pressure and uneven perspiration due to fear and anxiety?
The courts of the US do not recognize the scientific claims and bar the polygraph test results from accepting as evidence, but private employers can choose to do what they wish. Drug tests, on the other hand, are accepted as evidence and can play an important role in determining a ruling. Since polygraph tests were eventually prohibited to be used by employers, they moved on to the drug tests – an easy and, believe it or not, less intrusive form of employee testing.