As more states across the nation legalize cannabis, employers across the U.S. are reconfiguring their drug testing standards.
The majority of Fortune 1000 companies have some kind of drug screening in place for their employees. Many companies are dropping cannabis tests from the list.
Cannabis use for medical reasons is now legal in 37 states, while recreational use is legal in 19.
Employers are also facing a shortfall in applications, with the jobless rate ticking up to 3.7 percent in September, remaining near a five-decade low.
These realities have left companies to balance pressure to ease up on testing for a legal drug with concerns that this could impact safety and raise issues of liability.
Experts said that with the war for talent and the labor shortage, it has been tough for companies to find and retain employees, especially in some lower-paying jobs. Therefore, many are deciding to not test, except for safety-sensitive jobs.
Even though many companies are dropping cannabis tests, between 30 and 35 million employment-related drug tests are still being conducted in the U.S. annually.
Companies with multiple operations in different parts of the country face an additional challenge because laws differ from state to state.
The challenge of balancing workplace safety and the growing legalization, and therefore prevalence, of some types of drugs, is becoming especially difficult for manufacturers and others who use dangerous operating equipment.
Some big companies are deciding to treat cannabis like alcohol, even though traces of the drug linger in the human body far longer and show up on some tests well after a worker was ever impaired by its use.
Many employers are shifting screening efforts to focus on drugs that remain illegal and where used in some industries also appear on the upswing.
For example, in manufacturing, there was an increase in positivity rates last year for both methamphetamine and cocaine.
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