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Most employers and plants I do work at require alcohol and drug screens. I don't do non-prescription drugs so its no issue, but I do drink.
I have heard there are tests that can tell if you drank 4-5 days ago. While I find this unconstitutional and would probably have a labor claim, has anyone encountered this? I work in refineries, chemical plants and terminals. I understand a breath test to see if you are drunk on the job, but a urine or blood test to see if you got drunk Friday night?
What exactly are they trying to do? Do you get fired if you show a drop of alcohol was ever in your system? Do you have some clause in your agreement/contract about drinking?
My work does testing but it's only to make sure you aren't drinking at work.
What exactly are they trying to do? Do you get fired if you show a drop of alcohol was ever in your system? Do you have some clause in your agreement/contract about drinking?
My work does testing but it's only to make sure you aren't drinking at work.
I agree. OP, what is your company doing with this info, or are you just making an inquiry based on a rumor? Unless you work for someplace that prohibits you from ever consuming alcohol, the "days later" test doesn't show anything other than that you have consumed alcohol. What is your company's policy regarding alcohol testing and alcohol consumption?
I agree with the ones above, as long as it isnt drunk levels, you dont need to worry about it. They could do a liver panel or blood sugar if they cared about you drinking long term... But so far no employers have done this that i know of. Alcohol is built into some panels so they get the result, sure they can request individual items, but panels are sometimes cheaper so they just use that. Dont ask me why panels are cheaper than picking which ones to run, it makes no difference in how it is ran, but it gets billed for more. Kind of like mcdonalds combos are cheaper than ordering each item separately
Standard drug tests are done with a urine sample. Standard alcohol testing is done with a breath test. In my profession (public transit,) we randomly test drivers for both drug and alcohol. If the feds are ok with a simple breath test, you should be fine. The breath test can only detect alcohol in the system as it is processed by the blood. Had a drink an hour ago? Probably will show up around a 0.01 or 0.02. Had one drink the night before? Will not show up on the test. A drink is one ounce of alcohol. It takes the average human one hour to process on drink.
Alcohol is metabolized fairly quickly. If you had a drink the night before the test, the only thing that might remain in the morning are trace metabolites. Theoretically, you could get plastered the night before, and test positive for ethanol in your system, but you would have to consume enough to completely overwhelm your liver. I don't think we are talking about that...
If you have any remaining concerns, ask the people administering the test. I highly doubt they require their workers to abstain from alcohol entirely.
I think you will be fine.
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