Amazon.com Inc. has said it supports proposed U.S. legislation to legalize cannabis at the federal level and will waive drug testing requirements for some employees.

Does Amazon use drug testing of job applicants or employees

Because of the global labor shortage, businesses around the world are abandoning drug testing in order to attract more applicants and retain the maximum number of employees available. Maximum staffing shortages over the past 15 years exist alongside higher unemployment rates in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

In other words, while more and more people are out of work, employers are increasingly having trouble finding staff. And a measure like drug testing threatens to sift out an already small number of candidates and make the recruitment process more difficult.

In countries where marijuana isn’t decriminalized, drug testing is a headache for employers. For example, Australian entrepreneurs complain that mentioning this test in job applicants scares away job seekers. Without this requirement, 10 times as many potential employees respond.

Some major companies have already realized this and have begun to adapt their hiring policies. In June 2021, Amazon announced that it would no longer test people for marijuana as part of a pre-employment drug test. Part of the company’s policy revision is motivated by a change in the law regarding marijuana use in the U.S.

This article explains how this policy works in Amazon nowadays.

How did drug testing work before the new policy was adopted

The company’s drug test policy has been pretty strict. Let’s look at it from the job applicant’s perspective. First, you had to go through the hiring process, which consists of several steps:

• Interview with the operations manager of the warehouse where you want to work and interview you to decide if you can move on to step two.
• Background checks, including questions about your personal information and work experience.
• Passing a drug test.

Of course, depending on the position you’re applying for, the company may have added more steps, but in any case, you would have had to take a drug test almost immediately.

In any case, you would have to go through all the stages of the interview, to begin with, and at the very end, you would be asked to pass a drug test.

How does Amazon’s drug testing policy work now

The company now treats cannabis use by employees or job seekers the same way it treats alcohol use and doesn’t restrict such employees from working in Amazon warehouses.

Amazon loosened its policy on employees who use marijuana. In addition, Amazon has advised contractors who operate branded vans to explain to driver candidates that the company won’t test whether they use cannabis. The company estimates that this test reduces the number of potential employees by nearly 30 percent.

Amazon will still do drug testing with a mouth swab because this test can detect not only smoking weed, but also more serious (and illegal) drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, or opiates. However, if it turns out that you smoked pot last night, for example, it will be treated the same as if you drank alcohol last night. In other words, you will still be hired or will not be suspended if you have already been hired.

Also, the company will still conduct random drug tests using a mouth swab, but if you just smoke weed after work, you have nothing else to worry about.

Does Amazon conduct random drug tests

Amazon conducts random drug tests, so you may be one of the employees the company tests. However, random testing means that you may never get tested during your time at Amazon (or, depending on the case, you may be tested more than once).

Honestly, the company has tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of employees and is the second private employer in the United States, so your chances of getting tested are slim.

However, the chances increase if you work with equipment that, if used improperly, could be dangerous to your life or the lives and health of other employees. Even so, your chances of getting tested aren’t very high. Though, the chances of being tested are higher if you have caused any kind of accident.

How is a drug test taken exactly

Amazon takes mouth swabs from employees. This is one of the most basic tests that can be done to determine what drugs a person has used in the last 24 hours. Of course, this is a rough figure that depends on the characteristics of the human body, for some people traces of drugs can remain in the body for up to 40 hours, while for others they disappear after 20-22 hours.

An oral swab can detect a fairly wide range of popular drugs, including cannabis, opiates, methamphetamine, and cocaine.

In countries where marijuana isn’t decriminalized, drug testing is a headache for employers. For example, Australian entrepreneurs complain that mentioning this test in job applicants scares away job seekers. Without this requirement, 10 times as many potential employees respond.