Integrity Testing / Drug Testing Staffing and Performance Management Fall 2007 Group Members Rebecca Cosper Lennie Griffin John Jenkins Matt Hendricks Kevin Houston Throy Campbell

The Dark Side of Selection  Characteristics applicants should not have and the risk involve in administering integrity and drug test for employment purposes

Integrity Testing $15 billion to $25 billion per year from Employee theft Used in Retail and Financial Industry Polygraph Test Paper and Pencil Integrity Test

Polygraph Testing Procedures  Designed to read physiological responses Exemptions Limitations  False Positive  False Negatives  Distractive Physical Activities

Paper and Pencil Integrity Test Overt Integrity Test Personality-Based Measures

Usefulness and Validity of Integrity Test False Positives Validity Integrity Tests ad Big Five Personality Dimensions Relationship between Integrity Tests Other relationships Faking Legal Issues

Drug Testing Major concern to organizations since Mandatory for many safety sensitive jobs and organizations receiving government contracts ≥ $25,000. Research has found drug use is negatively associated with; job performance, accidents, injuries, absences, involuntary turnover, and job withdrawal behaviors. Measuring the deterioration in work performance is difficult due to individual differences in reactions to amounts and types of drugs. The only sure way to measure deterioration is to measure job performance of an individual when he/she is free from drugs and when he/she has consumed drugs

Drug Tests Paper and Pencil Tests – simplest, least controversial. Directly asks about drug usage.  There is almost no public literature that evaluates the reliability or validity of this type of test  Unconstitutional based on the Fifth Amendment. Urine Tests – used most often  The urine is divided in two parts for a screening test and a confirmation test, both have to match  Testing procedures differ for the different drug families and thresholds are set Hair Analysis – basis is similar to urine analysis  drugs leave chemical traces in human hair  drug use can be detected after a long period of time

Drug Tests Fitness for Duty Tests – (competency test) – relatively new  one form resembles a computer game and is a test of hand-eye coordination.  more information is needed about contamination factors to determine validity. Oral Fluid Test  an oral swab is rubbed on the inside of the mouth, then placed in a vial  the liquid is analyzed and barring any lab error, the test is always accurate

Accuracy of Chemical Tests Because the physical properties of each drug are invariant, the chemical test should be completely accurate A positive result means a presence of the drug above the threshold set for detection The result does not allow for the determination of how much of the drug was used, how long ago, how frequently, the circumstances or the level of impairment Individuals differ, drugs differ and indication of ability to perform is fallible

Legal Issues of Employment Drug Testing The legal status of employment drug testing is unclear in the United States. Employers risk using such test for preemployment selection of individuals, but significantly more for: promotion of existing employees, to detect usage for disciplinary and counseling purposes, because of collective bargaining among co-workers.

Legal Arguments : Invasion of Privacy Unreasonable search or seizure Violation of due process Protection under Americans with Disabilities Act Violation of Civil Rights Act – Title VII Violation of National Labor Relations Important Features: Limit testing to positions with major safety implications Flexibility with applicants versus current employees Written consent Review program periodically Part of a larger program

Drug Testing Outside source information

Drug Testing According to the American Management Association, 81% of companies in America drug test their employees, and 83% of them believe that testing deters drug use. The main reasons cited for drug testing are that drug abusers are:  10 times more likely to miss work  3.6 times more likely to be involved in an on-the-job accident  5 times more likely to file a workers’ comp claim  33% less productive

Urine Testing Urine testing is the most common and least expensive type of testing o Used to test recent drug or alcohol use only Typically costs between $35 and $50 an employee Only shows limited success with finding harder drugs Easiest to manipulate  Dilution  Fake urine  The Whizzinator (only $ online)

Hair, Blood, and Saliva Testing Much more expensive than urine testing Hair and saliva tests can determine a history of drug use  Up to 90 days or more Highly controversial  More likely to show false negatives and false positives  Hair testing has been shown to have an ethnic bias Can be manipulated with shampoos or mouth washes

The Real Story There continues to be a lot of controversy surrounding drug testing in general  Privacy concerns  Necessity (many companies report doing it for “image reasons”)  Cost (the US Gov’t spends $77,000 on each positive test result)  Morale (tends to hurt morale by creating a climate of distrust)  Lack of results (lowers efficiency and has next to no effect on absenteeism or accidents)  For real results, you must combine proactive education with testing. Testing alone does very little.

Thoughts …