HR Checklists: Drug Testing & Workplace Substance Abuse Prevention

HR Checklists: Drug Testing & Workplace Substance Abuse Prevention

Uritox

HR checklist is an estimated schedule that the Human Resources professional of a company creates every year to identify the upcoming challenges and opportunities to create a strategy to face them efficiently.

hr checklist 2021

Table of Contents:

It is time to bounce back on business. It has been a year, and now the wave of the great pandemic is slowly calming down. It is good news not only for job seekers but also for the firms. The entire world has hit a refresh button, and there is no doubt that the offices will meet some new faces as employees. Time tables and sticky notes are getting ready to plunge into work. All those stationeries are now searching for that one professional who makes use of them. Yes, this is all about the Human Resources Professional. HR is known for its managerial skills and multitasking skills. One among them is the drug testing for the walk-in candidates and employees on a calculated scale.

HR checklist is a business management strategy where the HR professional can strategically allocate succeeding plans. They do certain things, including employees' structure, organization charts, policy allocations, etc. Drug testing policies and time of testing are one of the prime checklist responsibilities of an HR.

This blog will explore a Human Resources professional's responsibilities regarding the drug testing services and various parameters on their checklist in detail.

HR Audit Checklist

An HR audit is a process of accessing the performance of the human resources department. It includes looking back at all types of policies, documents, processes, and procedures previously done.

An HR audit checklist is a process of carefully analyzing the history and making out a report or checklist to manage things more effectively in the future. It is to have a revision over the functionalities of the company over some time. Some of the purposes of the HR audit are:

  1. To ensure the company's compliance, whether it is running by the laws that govern them.
  2. To help the Human Resources department to realize their previous mistakes and prevent them from doing them again.
  3. Review of proper management of resources and distribution of those resources in an effective way.
  4. Acting on lines of due diligence for all the potential investors and stakeholders of the company.
  5. Strategize, improvise, and replace the ill-doings by an act of goodwill, thereby keeping the pace of professionalism.

The entire HR audit revolves around these five major points. There are different types of HR audits. They involve I-9 audit, Policy-based audit, Legal Compliance audit, Healthy and Safety of employees based audit, etc.

Focusing on the drug testing part, it comes under the Workplace HR audit or the safety audit. It looks over the health of the employees and ensures that they have good health. It includes periodic safety testing whether the employees are clean and safe without being addicted to illegal drugs. It also incorporates the report of pre-employment drug test screenings to ensure that no drug addict is knowingly or unknowingly recruited into the firm.

A proper audit leads us to compliance, where policies and procedures are constructed to maintain the company's integrity or organization. In that case, let us go over the HR compliance checklist and their say on the drug testing.

HR Compliance Checklist

HR compliance is the process of setting up policies and procedures so that the employment practices and the workplace follow the rules and regulations of that particular company. The HR would be looking over the employees' performance, actions, and conduct and carefully analyze whether it interferes with its conflict of interest. To be short, the entire scope of the policy administration lies with the HR department.

When it comes to drug testing, HR should comply with employees' drug testing procedures and pre-employment candidates based on the prescribed company rules. HR should look over company rules and the government rules, which the HR should prioritize.

In that sense, HR should adhere to the United States Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and comply with the principles of drug testing procedures. According to this act, the company should provide a safe, protective, and productive work environment to the employees and commit to eliminating drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace.

Apart from the government regulations, any private or government entity can frame their company policies regarding drug testing. For instance, some companies may hire an employee if they might be entitled to a moderate amount of drug, while some of them have a strict restriction of employment over the drug users.

The common testing ways and methods of the company relies upon the choice of HR. Normally, the companies would take a drug test during these three scenarios:

  1. Pre-employment
  2. Post-accident
  3. Workplace drug testing (on reasonable suspicion)

The drug testing methods during the above three scenarios include

  1. Urine drug testing
  2. Hair drug testing
  3. Saliva drug testing
  4. Blood drug testing

The drug testing methods may vary based on the intensity of the suspicion or the drug abuse that the candidate is getting involved in. It also differs based on the company's rules and regulations. For instance, the pre-employment drug test involves a preliminary urine drug test and a confirmatory hair drug test.

If the particular candidate is tested positive or refuses to take a drug test, the candidate will be considered positive and not hired by the organization. If it is workplace drug testing, then necessary action is taken based on its bylaws.

So, it is clear that HR should induct the procedures, the type of drug test in the compliance checklist and should comply with those procedures while taking a drug test. After compliance, it is an onboarding procedure for a candidate.

Let's see how HR contributes regarding the onboarding checklist.

HR Onboarding Checklist

Once verifying all the details of a candidate after a pre-employment drug test, HR onboarding is a process of officially welcoming a new employee into an organization. It involves certain steps and preparation for the new employee and their paperwork for the employee's involvement with the office and its co-workers.

The steps involved with the HR onboarding checklist are:

1. Pre-Boarding Checklist

S-1: Send an e-mail to the new employee regarding the onboarding.

S-2: Send an e-mail to the existing employees regarding the recruitment of the new employee.

S-3: Allocate an office space and arrange necessary equipment for the employee.

2. Onboarding Checklist

S-1: Welcome the employee and take him/her on an office tour.

S-2: Setting up office space for the employee and making sure they adapt to the office ambiance.

S-3: Completing the paperwork and getting all the procedures done effectively.

S-4: Arranging meeting between the Chief Executive Officer and the new employee.

S-5: Introducing the new employee to the Manager who assigns him or her new tasks.

S-6: Checking on the new employee and scheduling meetings with their working team and other teams to get acquainted with the office employees.

HR Induction Checklist

The HR induction checklist is a series of procedures lined up in an orderly fashion to guide the new employee and get professionally acquainted with the office and the employees. The HR will introduce the new employee to the organization and the employees and make the employee comfortable to work with. HR provides all the necessary information to the employee regarding the office, the work role, the role description, and other stuff to feel relieved and happy while starting the work.

Concerning the safety measures, HR provides knowledge training about the company's policies and procedures and ensures that the employee abides by those policies without any conflict of interest. HR is responsible for arranging for any meeting or knowledge training for the new employee if needed. While induction is one such process that includes the procedures mentioned above, HR determines a checklist regarding the termination.

HR Termination Checklist

It includes the procedures that HR should establish while proceeding with the termination of any employees. The termination may be voluntary or involuntary. In case of voluntary termination, HR should get a resignation letter and a scheduled exit interview. If it is involuntary, HR should inform the employee about the cause of termination and get a severance agreement signed. If necessary, HR can provide WARN/OWBPA (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification/Older Workers Benefits Protection Act) notice. They should also proceed with other procedures, including clearance of benefits, compensation, legal records, etc. In the case of drug testing, if HR had traced any employee with drug metabolites via a workplace drug testing program, they would take necessary action concerning the rules and regulations of the company statute.

Final Words

HR plays an inevitable role in the day-to-day business activities of an organization. Right from calling candidates for the interview until their termination, HR is one of the prime officials who hold the organization's efficiency. Through this blog, you would have learned about the importance of HR in a company, and drug testing is one of the significant tasks that they consider throughout the entire process.



Older Post Newer Post