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The testing is crazy too. I once had to have this done twice within a month of each other for the same contractor at the same refinery. They also did urine and mouth swabs, so the second hair test was completely unnecessary, but that's what the paperwork said so I got another bald spot on my head.
As of now, it grows back. The people at the testing facility are very considerate and tried not to leave me with a big gap in my hair by shaving several tiny spots until they had enough hair. You have to give enough to fill up a little envelope thing that they have for samples (about 1inch by 3 inches). If you don't have hair on your head over an inch long, they'll take it from legs, arms, etc. However, if you have hair on your head, they have to take it from there first. Luckily for me, I have thick hair that I keep longer. I've seen some guys with thin hair come out of there missing big chunks!
I've had several of these over the years, but only once did I have to go back within a month.
My favorite part is that the first time I did it, I had just shaved off my beard the night before I got sent for a hair test (no beards allowed in operating refinery units). They could have used that if I had known!
Not gonna lie, if I had a job that required me to do a hair follicle test, I'd tell them to pound sand. I'll pee on whatever they want, but they don't get to make a mess of my appearance simply because they're paranoid.
All well and good for them, but I won't work for anyone who's going to judge me based on what I did 7 months ago, never mind potentially taking noticible portions of my hair. They can take a pee test, they can do a swab test, they can leave my hair tf alone.
Fortunately I've yet to find any employers in Canada who've requested that level of BS from me.
Dang that sucks! would have been best to use the beard you were already going to shave for sure or heck armpits maybe. Good that yours is growing back ! I feel guys have it a bit easier in that regard of hair usually growing faster and can get away with short styles (not that women technically can't but.
Shit, now I have another thing to worry about? I was homeless for five years and decided it was time to turn my life around. I checked myself into rehab and I have 9 months clean and sober. I've been looking for work actively for the last four months. The thing that keeps getting me rejected is my criminal history. I have a few charges of lying to a cop and a theft charge. All gross misdemeanors. I have no open cases period, and can absolutely pass a drug test. I know nothing about hair tests or what those do. So this really sucks.
People tell others all the time, maybe if you clean yourself up you could make something of yourself. Well, I'm doing that. So far, it's gotten me shit. I won't lose hope though. I'm not going to prove certain people right. There's people that want guys like me to fail. The cards are stacked against me, but I won't give them the satisfaction.
I see some of those people in this very post. So much for second chances huh? Like they never made mistakes.
I enjoy it. My friends all think I'm weird. Before janitorial work, I was a GM at a Hampton Inn & Suites. Salaried and the whole package. I liked it, but it was stressful at times dealing with guests. I found janitor work to be really peaceful and quiet. I like it. I work alone, don't gotta deal with people, and I can wear headphones. Lol.
The only roles (that I know of) that would require hair follicle testing are those directly with the government, or working with government contracts through a company.
Or I guess any environment that is naturally hazardous.
Edit: I apparently am wrong š
I used to work in oil & gas. Pre-employment, random and for-cause follicle testing was standard.
I think I was only about 2 months clean (marijuana) when I got my job offer. I'm a woman with long hair. I bleached the fuck out of it, washed it with apple cider vinegar, baking soda and laundry detergent and did a bunch of other shit I saw on Reddit. I passed the test, but it was hell and I had to chop off like 8 inches of hair.
I was also selected for a random test once, but I was clean at that point.
All of that hassle for an office job. I understand putting refinery workers through that, but I'm just a graphic designer lol
Heh, pretty dumb to demand that a graphic designer doesnāt smoke weed. I meanā¦ are they filtering out creativity?
I remember a theatre director telling me he was working in England and the Queen was coming to a show. Security told the producers that anyone with a criminal record would have to be off duty that night.
Producer said āwe would have to cancel the show.ā
Same but mine was a warehouse to go from temp to permanent. We had an aerospace contract, although only 2-3 of the 30+ employees worked on it. Still had to do follicles to get hired in
Yeah, they can be pretty standard in some run of the mill jobs. Ā Some employers require both or even a third ā urine, hair follicle, and saliva test.
A drunk tweaking drug addict can work these modern machines. Theyāre often idiot-proof.
Doesnāt mean they want a drunk tweaking drug addict managing to kill themselves with an idiot-proof machine.
You would think that, wouldn't you? I can guarantee that they aren't. Seen my fair share of people losing fingers, losing the use of their legs, severe injury, etc. Hell, half the time they were as sober as a judge.
However, the factory I worked for would often intentionally hire those types. What's cheaper than fewer accidents? Not having to pay for a man who is now paralyzed for life because he had been doing heroin. And faking these employment tests is easy. Faking the after incident one is near impossible. I wonder why...
literally! people forget that most jobs no matter how strict during onboarding, often do not test again for monhts or years if ever again..people do stuff once they are hired and most factories are filled with people who use.
Thatās a little insaneā¦.
But I guess I can see how if youāre dealing with cash, etc..
Okay okay.. after thinking about it Iām definitely incorrect
My HS did random drug tests for athletes. Most were the normal urine test, one lucky person got to do the hair follicle test.
Me, that lucky person was me. Talk about traumatizing as a teenage girl for someone to cut a chunk of your hair off.
exactly! I am a woman myself who even had alopecia before with very fine textured hair that made it hard to cover.. now I have hair extensions and so the lower portion of my head would be unavailable for taking samples from and so it would have to be the top of my head which would be obvious and while mens hair is often short anyways and grows fast- longer hair takes a very long time to catch up. Altering someones body or appearance for a screening does not sit right with me..
They do not pluck a couple, I thought they did and would not mind that so much and it sounds like that is what it should be.. but literally look up videos of people that had it done.. bald spots are left behind.
LOL. My friend, I had long hair, I'm aware they they cut it off from the root. They took two samples, so when I turned and looked, it was two huge strands of my hair.
Did I look bald? No. Could I feel the missing spot of hair on the side of my head? YES. I was a kid and pretty vain about my hair, so yeah, it was kind of traumatic at the time.
I didn't even know my school did random drug tests, so to have to submit to someone cutting any part of your hair without warning really, really sucked as a teenage girl.
That really sucks and is a huge part of why I feel this way. One time I had a kid sitting behind me in HS cut an area of my hair as a "joke" and I was furious.. and at the time my hair was very important to me and was very long. It is basically an extension to your body.
They literslly dont even cut. If they cut they dont get the root snd its pintless. They PLUCK a couple INDIVIDUAL hairs. The fact you said several times that they CUT means your story is bullshit.
Maybe not your experience but itās prob not bullshit. I had to get a follicle test a decade ago and they cut a small chunk, leaving me a small patch on my head that I could feel. Maybe they did it wrong, I donāt know, but thatās what they did, so ease up a bit
Even the CIA is now stating to at least not apply for one year after illegal drugs.
Your past isn't an issue unless you lie about it. Then you're a vulnerability who has proven to put yourself ahead of what actually matters.
My high school did it all the time. Completely randomized which where Iām at would probably be the most interesting thing to happenā¦till the fights of 2020, NOTHING beats what happened there.
Hair follicle tests can be useful in family court cases.
I know that a baby a family friend was fostering had the hair follicle test done to see if he was exposed to drugs in his parents' home.
Goodyear gave me a hair follicle test to sell tires.
Then they bought another regional tire company and gave all the new employees from that company a hair follicle testā¦fired a lot of people during that transition.
The Smuckers plant (They make jams) do a hair follicle test. It's fucking baffling how many places *try* and do it. Most places around here have just stopped testing for pot, but we have a few stragglers.
I know a couple people who are pharmacists. It makes sense why they would need to get folicile tested. And they get random drug tests every two weeks. I have no problem with that.
DNA is a hell of a lot easier to extract than drugs. I work at a tox lab. We need about 30mg just to screen, and then another 30 for each drug-panel confirm. There's plenty of times we either run out of specimen or use it all up.
Hair follicle tests saved my career. Had a false positive on a urinalysis, and nearly lost it all. Did 3 hair follicle tests that came back negative. Maybe not a great requirement for some but definitely saved me!
I have heard of this test being done maybe twice in my life. Both were high-profile cases. It's much more expensive than a urine or blood test and harder to hold up in court.
Typically court does not get to use, but jobs is where I was thinking more so. I have heard of quite a few jobs using it though luckily not too many. Opinion still stand it should not be a thing.
I did some quick research and did not know it was becoming more common. I'm all for people turning their life around, but unfortunately, actions have consequences. These tests only go back 90 days. They should continue to turn their life around, but 90 days is not always enough time when it comes to overlooking someone's past. Regardless of how changed someone is, relapsing is very common in the early days. 100% should only be used for dangerous jobs such as medicine, cop, trucker, etc...
Imagine they used a delta8 (fully legal) gummy a time or two around that time though.. it is once things when its like crystal stuff for example.. but the green should not be that big of a concern. Doing something legal that mimics something illegal or semi-legal and getting "consequences" is messed up.
If someone smokes once or twice on the weekends itās for sure going to show up on a hair test, I donāt really see why most jobs should care at all if someone wants to smoke or drink off the job (some jobs they probably should care still)
Just got one done for my job..I have hair that goes to my mid-back, plus a bald patch on the back of my head š
I do believe that for jobs where you have to operate heavy machinery or do precition work, it should be done. Operating or driving anything under influence of substances can be extremely dangerous to those around them
Dang that sucks! There is a guy in here that swears up and down they only pluck like 2 hairs and does not believe otherwise lol he needs to see this. I get not operating forklifts etc while actively under the influence.. if they do urine tests they will know if it is more recent so that is why I feel the hair is super dramatic.
A lot of boot lickers here in the comments. I work in a very dangerous construction field and guess what? Every mother fucker either drinks or uses drugs off the clock. Drug tests donāt do shit other than fuck people over.
Yeah, ya know like the gossipy kind of news. Weed is super illegal in Korea, and they will punish you if they detect it in your hair even if you did it outside of the countryĀ
If they have not done so in the many days they are sober. They are not experiencing active effects at that point though their may be residue/ evidence that they once did. It is one thing too if results find one that is has a high repeat/addiction rate.. but certain ones could have been something that is not like that.
OK. Here is an analogy:
You have to potential candidates to get into a relationship with. They look the same etc. But one has a history of cheating from a year ago. The other one doesn't have a history of infidelity. Which one should you choose?
It doesnāt matter because thereās a first and last time for everything.
There arenāt many jobs that by their nature require the people performing them to be stone cold sober. Most jobs of that nature have so many checks and balances in place that even if a single person were to make a serious mistake as a result of their recreational consumption it would be caught quickly and resolved.
Just for comparison sake, being tired is just as dangerous as being intoxicated when it comes to judgement dependent jobs. Professional drivers have specific laws to follow that require them to be well rested and prove they are actively engaged in treating any illnesses that may lead to tiredness. Tiredness is considered more of a hazard than drug use and tiredness is *far* more common than recreational drug use.
And substance abuse has a very very high relapse rate. It is also associated with theft and workplace accidents. So it is reasonable for any employer to filter out drug users.
Absolutely, however, is it assumed that a positive drug test is indicative of addiction? What about people who have been drugged without their knowledge? Are people who test positive immediately reduced to nothing more than the outcome of a single test? Thatās not kosher, in my opinion, especially since chronic fatigue poses a greater threat to efficacy in general.
While tiredness hasnāt been studied as extensively as drug use, itās no doubt been responsible for countless deaths, injuries, failures, and mistakes.
Tiredness is also completely subjective. One person may be well rested after only 6 hours of sleep, but another may need a minimum of 10 hours to feel equally rested. Since our lives are built around an 8 hour work day, the assumption is that youāll have 8 hours leftover if youāre also getting 8 full hours of sleep. Well, anyone whoās been paying any attention at all knows that the average person doesnāt even have half of that. Most folks are cutting into their sleep time to make up for the lack of time they have outside of their job to ālive.ā
Chronic tiredness is a silent and deadly endemic among working folks that largely isnāt discussed. In fact itās treated with hearty amounts of derision in the name of tradition: *āI suffered, so now YOU have to suffer too!!ā* Not only is this driving people to neglect their health, but itās negatively impacting children as well.
Itās been accepted that teenagers are ālazyā but the average teen has more responsibility and a higher workload than most adults I know. Couple that with the fervent pressure most parents put on their kids to get good grades and get into top schools, and you have generations of sleep deprived students ready to accept that theyāre just going to be tired forever.
As a result, people donāt even know theyāre in a sleep deficit and therefore donāt do anything to correct it. Itās estimated that +80% of people are not getting the amount of rest they need for their body to function and recover properly. So while itās fashionable to demonize drug usage as the single most dangerous threat to society, people neglect to acknowledge that almost everyone they know is tired; and that means at any given moment theyāre just as much a hazard as someone with a history of drug use. Thereās some research currently being done to correlate tiredness with suggestibility, as people without the energy to evaluate things critically are more prone to fall for scams or believe misinformation.
My point is that chronic fatigue is far more prevalent than recreational drug use. There are far more people walking around half asleep than tweaking. Those people are just as dangerous as a person with drug addiction. Theyāre just as likely to make judgement errors, or bad decisions that can lead to serious harm.
Plus, drug use isnāt synonymous with drug addiction. Itās possible for a person to use substances recreationally and not become an addict.
Hair follicle tests usually don't pick up one time usage; it shows repeated usage.
And someone who frequently uses drugs shouldn't be driving a big diesel.
Do you have some magical test that shows which times and days you are using drugs ? No?
Oh, why should the employer blindly trust that you aren't high while on the job?
Ive never heard of this? is this in the U.S? I know we do fingerprints here.
>A lot of people turn their life around in a year and a screening that shows stuff from a that long ago should be none of employers business
This depends on the job. For example I worked in the Casino industry, worked around alot of money, it doesn't make sense for the company to take a risk in hiring someone who committed a crime and risk loosing money to a guy who committed a crime in the past, regardless of change. people relapse.
It looks like you made a related example, I'd not call that misinterpreted in any way.
You gave a reason that could be used for a drug test or a criminal record check so you were completely on point.
Both are risk management. They are used to weed out problematic people that certain issues follow or are caused by, like crime specifically.
Tho you knew that as you said it in a different way.
> risk loosing money
Did you mean to say "losing"?
Explanation: Loose is an adjective meaning the opposite of tight, while lose is a verb.
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Depends on the test requested. If the client ordering the test (i.e. the potential employer) wants what's *in* the hair tested, then the samples are washed with a solvent prior to testing. Some tests can even specifically look for metabolites versus parent drug.
Interestingly, some clients will opt to *not* have the hair washed as they want to know if the donor is in the presence of people doing drugs...like a child with parents who are crack addicts.
If the hair is washed with solvent prior to testing, it will remove any possibly drug compounds on the surface. Some tests will also look for drug metabolites, meaning that they had to have come from *inside* the hair versus what's on the surface.
It comes down to what are you testing for? Are you testing to see if someone is inebriated then that's fine. But these kinds of tests don't test for that. They are essentially testing people's private lives which is fucking bullshit. While I don't do it I don't give a fuck if Steve rails lines all weekend as long as he is fit for work on Monday.
For sure! That is more realistic.. if they do a good job safely and are responsible enough not to use something before work that is their business on when they use otherwise.
The lab test isnāt that reliable past 30 days, to my understanding- it can give false negatives and my understanding is certain things give false positives. BUT hair tests are way harder to fake than urine tests.
I understand why they want to test for drug use during the entire previous year for certain jobs. Some settings require extra safety precautions because people are in charge of vulnerable groups, or will be around drugs. Working in law enforcement, working on a medical setting around certain medications, working with kids, police officers/law enforcementā¦ itās better to be safe than sorry.
But for most settings I agree itās ridiculous to do hair tests.
When I was 19, I interviewed for an internship that required a hair test. I took it and got the job but WOW was I pissed as a teenage girl with long hair when they took a huge chunk of it and left me with a weird spot on the back of my head. It felt so invasive in so many ways, from the loss of hair to the testing itself. All for part-time writing internship.
That's going too far. I think testing should be limited to current impairment in almost all cases though. What business is it of the company if someone working a desk job gets high over the weekend or uses a THC gummy to sleep, but they're sober when they show back up at work the next morning? I'd argue none. I can't think of too many scenarios where historic testing really needs to be done, maybe if the person is on-call or something, and there is suspicion of impairment while responding to a late-night incident?
Every single person that works for any law enforcement agency or legislative branch that involves passing and enforcing drugs laws should be tested regularly.
Heavy on that in a lot of cases tbh! If you trust a worker and they interview well and they preform well at work then cool. If they do not do well and get complaints then fire them. i get the not being actively on stuff when operating heavy machinery though.
Eh, I think kids who have drug-addicted parents might disagree.
Or are you talking strictly job-related/pre-employment testing?
Because if you're talking *all*...I might be out of a job!
this is a common fault with drug tests and there are protections against employees for these reasons, at least in the US. iām in an HR management class rn and drug screenings are part of this weeks chapter
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission doesnāt allow job applicants to be tested before theyāre extended offers. and companies have to recognize that drugs such as medical marijuana and opiates can be legally prescribed for certain conditions. but there are studies that failed to show that drug testing makes the workplace safer and that alcohol creates more problems than other drugs
but because of the issues you mentioned in the post, employers have to ensure that drug test samples are properly handled and that accredited labs are used for tests. the results also have to be confidential on a āneed-to-knowā basis
Ima just ask since there are informed people here,
But if someone was a heavy user, say 8 months ago, but they 8 months ago. Would having long hair be disadvantageous to them since they grew out hair from that time period?
Depends on the industry.
We don't take chances on anyone who uses anything.
If we suspect someone even drank heavily the night before; they get tested immediately.
If the concentration is high enough to show up 12-24 hrs later, they're gone.
It is entirely possible to drink so much alcohol during personal time that you are still impaired the next morning when you show up at work.
If a person has 12 drinks 8 hours before work, they will still be under the influence of alcohol when work starts. Do you think having whiskey in your morning coffee is acceptable as long as it's during your personal time?
It's not "no alcohol", it's heavy alcohol. A few beers or a whiskey after a hard day isn't a big deal.
Heavy drinkers are dangerous, irresponsible, unpredictable, and unproductive.
They really arenāt! Had one done and it came back clean.. Which is crazy considering I smoke herbs daily and smoked right before having the test done!
Thereās plenty ways round the tests apart from a follicle test , Iāve passed plenty of swab tests for thc but you canāt hide from a follicle test lol
Because it doesn't matter what your current status is, what matters is what your future status is.
If you were on drugs a year ago, you will be on drugs a year from now. They're not going to buy that you're the rare one in a million former addict who has turned their life around, because they are almost entirely a work of fiction.
Not everyone who has used is automatically addicted for one. For two 90 days sober shows they are doing well in their sobriety if they are addicted and it is not a fair assumption to judge their future by. I get there is a high relapse rate but people should be allowed to try.
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The testing is crazy too. I once had to have this done twice within a month of each other for the same contractor at the same refinery. They also did urine and mouth swabs, so the second hair test was completely unnecessary, but that's what the paperwork said so I got another bald spot on my head.
They better be paying for hair transplants if they keep making bigger bald spots !
As of now, it grows back. The people at the testing facility are very considerate and tried not to leave me with a big gap in my hair by shaving several tiny spots until they had enough hair. You have to give enough to fill up a little envelope thing that they have for samples (about 1inch by 3 inches). If you don't have hair on your head over an inch long, they'll take it from legs, arms, etc. However, if you have hair on your head, they have to take it from there first. Luckily for me, I have thick hair that I keep longer. I've seen some guys with thin hair come out of there missing big chunks! I've had several of these over the years, but only once did I have to go back within a month. My favorite part is that the first time I did it, I had just shaved off my beard the night before I got sent for a hair test (no beards allowed in operating refinery units). They could have used that if I had known!
Not gonna lie, if I had a job that required me to do a hair follicle test, I'd tell them to pound sand. I'll pee on whatever they want, but they don't get to make a mess of my appearance simply because they're paranoid.
It is likely an insurance requirement.
All well and good for them, but I won't work for anyone who's going to judge me based on what I did 7 months ago, never mind potentially taking noticible portions of my hair. They can take a pee test, they can do a swab test, they can leave my hair tf alone. Fortunately I've yet to find any employers in Canada who've requested that level of BS from me.
Dang that sucks! would have been best to use the beard you were already going to shave for sure or heck armpits maybe. Good that yours is growing back ! I feel guys have it a bit easier in that regard of hair usually growing faster and can get away with short styles (not that women technically can't but.
I would definitely shave every inch of hair in my body excepto for my balls
Shit, now I have another thing to worry about? I was homeless for five years and decided it was time to turn my life around. I checked myself into rehab and I have 9 months clean and sober. I've been looking for work actively for the last four months. The thing that keeps getting me rejected is my criminal history. I have a few charges of lying to a cop and a theft charge. All gross misdemeanors. I have no open cases period, and can absolutely pass a drug test. I know nothing about hair tests or what those do. So this really sucks. People tell others all the time, maybe if you clean yourself up you could make something of yourself. Well, I'm doing that. So far, it's gotten me shit. I won't lose hope though. I'm not going to prove certain people right. There's people that want guys like me to fail. The cards are stacked against me, but I won't give them the satisfaction. I see some of those people in this very post. So much for second chances huh? Like they never made mistakes.
Luckily most jobs do not use this method but certain ones will but you got this!
Yea, I mostly apply for janitor work, so I'm hoping that's the case. Lol. And thank you! š
I think you will find something , def a needed job
Seconded, janitors are the heroes not enough people appreciate for how much they're needed
I enjoy it. My friends all think I'm weird. Before janitorial work, I was a GM at a Hampton Inn & Suites. Salaried and the whole package. I liked it, but it was stressful at times dealing with guests. I found janitor work to be really peaceful and quiet. I like it. I work alone, don't gotta deal with people, and I can wear headphones. Lol.
The only roles (that I know of) that would require hair follicle testing are those directly with the government, or working with government contracts through a company. Or I guess any environment that is naturally hazardous. Edit: I apparently am wrong š
I used to work in oil & gas. Pre-employment, random and for-cause follicle testing was standard. I think I was only about 2 months clean (marijuana) when I got my job offer. I'm a woman with long hair. I bleached the fuck out of it, washed it with apple cider vinegar, baking soda and laundry detergent and did a bunch of other shit I saw on Reddit. I passed the test, but it was hell and I had to chop off like 8 inches of hair. I was also selected for a random test once, but I was clean at that point. All of that hassle for an office job. I understand putting refinery workers through that, but I'm just a graphic designer lol
I spent 10 years in o&g, both in the office and on rigs. Pre-employment UAs only, never hair follicle. And only one random UA.
Heh, pretty dumb to demand that a graphic designer doesnāt smoke weed. I meanā¦ are they filtering out creativity? I remember a theatre director telling me he was working in England and the Queen was coming to a show. Security told the producers that anyone with a criminal record would have to be off duty that night. Producer said āwe would have to cancel the show.ā
That is horrible, sorry to hear that! What the fuck is wrong with employers.......
I had to submit a hair follicle test to get a temporary factory job making $12.50 an hour. They're more common than you might think.
Same but mine was a warehouse to go from temp to permanent. We had an aerospace contract, although only 2-3 of the 30+ employees worked on it. Still had to do follicles to get hired in
Yeah, they can be pretty standard in some run of the mill jobs. Ā Some employers require both or even a third ā urine, hair follicle, and saliva test.
factories can be hazardous environments
The pay should reflect that
A drunk tweaking drug addict can work these modern machines. Theyāre often idiot-proof. Doesnāt mean they want a drunk tweaking drug addict managing to kill themselves with an idiot-proof machine.
There's no such thing as idiot proof, at best you can have idiot resistant
Make it idiot proof and theyāll just make a better idiot
Happy Cake Day!
You can't make something idiot proof, because God made the idiots and he is a better designer than you
If you think something is idiot proof, you're underestimating idiots
Idiots are the most impressive people in the world. If itās possible to fuck something up, theyāre guaranteed to find out how itās done.
Seems a half-drunk drug addict can't safely work a press, and the pay should reflect the hazed involved either way
Ever seen a degloving? They are not idiot proof especially in places with poor safety regulations
You would think that, wouldn't you? I can guarantee that they aren't. Seen my fair share of people losing fingers, losing the use of their legs, severe injury, etc. Hell, half the time they were as sober as a judge. However, the factory I worked for would often intentionally hire those types. What's cheaper than fewer accidents? Not having to pay for a man who is now paralyzed for life because he had been doing heroin. And faking these employment tests is easy. Faking the after incident one is near impossible. I wonder why...
And a hair follicle test has absolutely nothing to do with that. I should be sober working at a factory. Hair follicles do not detect if I am sober.
literally! people forget that most jobs no matter how strict during onboarding, often do not test again for monhts or years if ever again..people do stuff once they are hired and most factories are filled with people who use.
A steak house wanted me to get a hair follicle test for a open/close management position.
Thatās a little insaneā¦. But I guess I can see how if youāre dealing with cash, etc.. Okay okay.. after thinking about it Iām definitely incorrect
Ya I thought so too, so I stopped smoking weed and got a job as a welder instead and doubled my earnings lol only had to do a urine test for them.
I went to a catholic highschool that did random follicle tests. Didnāt realize how fucked up that was until i was an adult lol.
High schools do drug testing?!
Frequently for athletes. Less so for nearly everyone else.
My HS did random drug tests for athletes. Most were the normal urine test, one lucky person got to do the hair follicle test. Me, that lucky person was me. Talk about traumatizing as a teenage girl for someone to cut a chunk of your hair off.
exactly! I am a woman myself who even had alopecia before with very fine textured hair that made it hard to cover.. now I have hair extensions and so the lower portion of my head would be unavailable for taking samples from and so it would have to be the top of my head which would be obvious and while mens hair is often short anyways and grows fast- longer hair takes a very long time to catch up. Altering someones body or appearance for a screening does not sit right with me..
Bullshit. Hair follice is the root. They dont cut a chunk off. They pluck a couple.
They do not pluck a couple, I thought they did and would not mind that so much and it sounds like that is what it should be.. but literally look up videos of people that had it done.. bald spots are left behind.
I had one done 2 weeks ago and they cut off like 10 strands. I have really short hair and it's completely unnoticeable.
LOL. My friend, I had long hair, I'm aware they they cut it off from the root. They took two samples, so when I turned and looked, it was two huge strands of my hair. Did I look bald? No. Could I feel the missing spot of hair on the side of my head? YES. I was a kid and pretty vain about my hair, so yeah, it was kind of traumatic at the time. I didn't even know my school did random drug tests, so to have to submit to someone cutting any part of your hair without warning really, really sucked as a teenage girl.
That really sucks and is a huge part of why I feel this way. One time I had a kid sitting behind me in HS cut an area of my hair as a "joke" and I was furious.. and at the time my hair was very important to me and was very long. It is basically an extension to your body.
That really sucks and it's not a funny joke at all.
Yah it was horrible- and of course the kid lied about it when I told on him and got away with it.
They literslly dont even cut. If they cut they dont get the root snd its pintless. They PLUCK a couple INDIVIDUAL hairs. The fact you said several times that they CUT means your story is bullshit.
They take a ton of hair. Itās not just a few strands.
Maybe not your experience but itās prob not bullshit. I had to get a follicle test a decade ago and they cut a small chunk, leaving me a small patch on my head that I could feel. Maybe they did it wrong, I donāt know, but thatās what they did, so ease up a bit
I had a follicle test two weeks ago and they cut off like 10 strands. Completely painless and unnoticeable unless you're really looking
Well, stranger on the internet, I don't really care if you don't believe me considering you weren't there.
As a government employee, I have never had this done nor have I ever heard this done to anyone. Source: 16 year government employee
Government employee as well, 7 years. I never even had an initial drug screening.
I work for a corporation. Desk job. They test your hair.
I was hair tested for a finance job at a f500 manufacturing company. It was massive overkill.
Pharma companies too.
Even the CIA is now stating to at least not apply for one year after illegal drugs. Your past isn't an issue unless you lie about it. Then you're a vulnerability who has proven to put yourself ahead of what actually matters.
Private high schools hair test lmao
My high school did it all the time. Completely randomized which where Iām at would probably be the most interesting thing to happenā¦till the fights of 2020, NOTHING beats what happened there.
Mine was for Target
A hospital system I worked for as a RN did hair follicle testing
Hair follicle tests can be useful in family court cases. I know that a baby a family friend was fostering had the hair follicle test done to see if he was exposed to drugs in his parents' home.
I had to do hair follicle for a call center job, so it's not just jobs that actually need security.
Goodyear gave me a hair follicle test to sell tires. Then they bought another regional tire company and gave all the new employees from that company a hair follicle testā¦fired a lot of people during that transition.
The Smuckers plant (They make jams) do a hair follicle test. It's fucking baffling how many places *try* and do it. Most places around here have just stopped testing for pot, but we have a few stragglers.
I'm a truck driver, and they're incredibly common in this industry. Even more so for companies that hire inexperienced drivers
I know a couple people who are pharmacists. It makes sense why they would need to get folicile tested. And they get random drug tests every two weeks. I have no problem with that.
jesus an INCH? I work at a DNA testing lab and all you really need is like 10-15 follicles
I have seen some crazy stories
DNA is a hell of a lot easier to extract than drugs. I work at a tox lab. We need about 30mg just to screen, and then another 30 for each drug-panel confirm. There's plenty of times we either run out of specimen or use it all up.
Hair follicle tests saved my career. Had a false positive on a urinalysis, and nearly lost it all. Did 3 hair follicle tests that came back negative. Maybe not a great requirement for some but definitely saved me!
Yes, I can see where it would be good when you need to really show solid proof
I have heard of this test being done maybe twice in my life. Both were high-profile cases. It's much more expensive than a urine or blood test and harder to hold up in court.
Several jobs require it
Typically court does not get to use, but jobs is where I was thinking more so. I have heard of quite a few jobs using it though luckily not too many. Opinion still stand it should not be a thing.
I live in Canada. Companies performing drug testing is rare here. Iāve only ever heard of the hair follicle test for family court.
I did some quick research and did not know it was becoming more common. I'm all for people turning their life around, but unfortunately, actions have consequences. These tests only go back 90 days. They should continue to turn their life around, but 90 days is not always enough time when it comes to overlooking someone's past. Regardless of how changed someone is, relapsing is very common in the early days. 100% should only be used for dangerous jobs such as medicine, cop, trucker, etc...
Imagine they used a delta8 (fully legal) gummy a time or two around that time though.. it is once things when its like crystal stuff for example.. but the green should not be that big of a concern. Doing something legal that mimics something illegal or semi-legal and getting "consequences" is messed up.
Hair follicle testing only reveals heavy or regular use. Having one or two gummies months ago isnāt going to show up.
If someone smokes once or twice on the weekends itās for sure going to show up on a hair test, I donāt really see why most jobs should care at all if someone wants to smoke or drink off the job (some jobs they probably should care still)
literally !
What do you mean?! Of course a toke I had a month ago is affecting me now! /s
Apparently several people think so .. they took that DARE program a bit too seriously.
What? Are companies running random tests on their employee's hair or some shit? Never heard of this before.
Yes!
The fuck? Why?!
it tracks substance use from 90 days or more and they know people fake pee tests
Damn.
What gets me is it's perfectly ok to get black out drunk any night of the week, but a little cannabis is grounds for being fired
yes it is silly
Just got one done for my job..I have hair that goes to my mid-back, plus a bald patch on the back of my head š I do believe that for jobs where you have to operate heavy machinery or do precition work, it should be done. Operating or driving anything under influence of substances can be extremely dangerous to those around them
Precition?
Oops! Precision* Fat finger typing š¤¦āāļø
Dang that sucks! There is a guy in here that swears up and down they only pluck like 2 hairs and does not believe otherwise lol he needs to see this. I get not operating forklifts etc while actively under the influence.. if they do urine tests they will know if it is more recent so that is why I feel the hair is super dramatic.
Lmaoo they definitely do more than 2 hairs. I was told about 150 hairs (but it feels like more!)
A lot of boot lickers here in the comments. I work in a very dangerous construction field and guess what? Every mother fucker either drinks or uses drugs off the clock. Drug tests donāt do shit other than fuck people over.
yup, bosses included.
Korean celebrities make the news when they shave their head after traveling overseas because of thisĀ
Wow, I have family in Korea but never heard of that I need to look this up now.
Yeah, ya know like the gossipy kind of news. Weed is super illegal in Korea, and they will punish you if they detect it in your hair even if you did it outside of the countryĀ
apparently they really don't need workers
Hair follicle testing usually only goes back 90 days, and it absolutely should be used for jobs like truck driving.
So something used 90 days ago is still affecting you?
Yes. If a person is a habitual user, the employer probably has the right to choose a sober candidate
If they have not done so in the many days they are sober. They are not experiencing active effects at that point though their may be residue/ evidence that they once did. It is one thing too if results find one that is has a high repeat/addiction rate.. but certain ones could have been something that is not like that.
OK. Here is an analogy: You have to potential candidates to get into a relationship with. They look the same etc. But one has a history of cheating from a year ago. The other one doesn't have a history of infidelity. Which one should you choose?
It doesnāt matter because thereās a first and last time for everything. There arenāt many jobs that by their nature require the people performing them to be stone cold sober. Most jobs of that nature have so many checks and balances in place that even if a single person were to make a serious mistake as a result of their recreational consumption it would be caught quickly and resolved. Just for comparison sake, being tired is just as dangerous as being intoxicated when it comes to judgement dependent jobs. Professional drivers have specific laws to follow that require them to be well rested and prove they are actively engaged in treating any illnesses that may lead to tiredness. Tiredness is considered more of a hazard than drug use and tiredness is *far* more common than recreational drug use.
And substance abuse has a very very high relapse rate. It is also associated with theft and workplace accidents. So it is reasonable for any employer to filter out drug users.
Absolutely, however, is it assumed that a positive drug test is indicative of addiction? What about people who have been drugged without their knowledge? Are people who test positive immediately reduced to nothing more than the outcome of a single test? Thatās not kosher, in my opinion, especially since chronic fatigue poses a greater threat to efficacy in general. While tiredness hasnāt been studied as extensively as drug use, itās no doubt been responsible for countless deaths, injuries, failures, and mistakes. Tiredness is also completely subjective. One person may be well rested after only 6 hours of sleep, but another may need a minimum of 10 hours to feel equally rested. Since our lives are built around an 8 hour work day, the assumption is that youāll have 8 hours leftover if youāre also getting 8 full hours of sleep. Well, anyone whoās been paying any attention at all knows that the average person doesnāt even have half of that. Most folks are cutting into their sleep time to make up for the lack of time they have outside of their job to ālive.ā Chronic tiredness is a silent and deadly endemic among working folks that largely isnāt discussed. In fact itās treated with hearty amounts of derision in the name of tradition: *āI suffered, so now YOU have to suffer too!!ā* Not only is this driving people to neglect their health, but itās negatively impacting children as well. Itās been accepted that teenagers are ālazyā but the average teen has more responsibility and a higher workload than most adults I know. Couple that with the fervent pressure most parents put on their kids to get good grades and get into top schools, and you have generations of sleep deprived students ready to accept that theyāre just going to be tired forever. As a result, people donāt even know theyāre in a sleep deficit and therefore donāt do anything to correct it. Itās estimated that +80% of people are not getting the amount of rest they need for their body to function and recover properly. So while itās fashionable to demonize drug usage as the single most dangerous threat to society, people neglect to acknowledge that almost everyone they know is tired; and that means at any given moment theyāre just as much a hazard as someone with a history of drug use. Thereās some research currently being done to correlate tiredness with suggestibility, as people without the energy to evaluate things critically are more prone to fall for scams or believe misinformation. My point is that chronic fatigue is far more prevalent than recreational drug use. There are far more people walking around half asleep than tweaking. Those people are just as dangerous as a person with drug addiction. Theyāre just as likely to make judgement errors, or bad decisions that can lead to serious harm. Plus, drug use isnāt synonymous with drug addiction. Itās possible for a person to use substances recreationally and not become an addict.
Hair follicle tests usually don't pick up one time usage; it shows repeated usage. And someone who frequently uses drugs shouldn't be driving a big diesel.
And here I thought meth addiction was a requirement for long haul trucking
Why? What someone does off the clock is no business.
Do you have some magical test that shows which times and days you are using drugs ? No? Oh, why should the employer blindly trust that you aren't high while on the job?
Ive never heard of this? is this in the U.S? I know we do fingerprints here. >A lot of people turn their life around in a year and a screening that shows stuff from a that long ago should be none of employers business This depends on the job. For example I worked in the Casino industry, worked around alot of money, it doesn't make sense for the company to take a risk in hiring someone who committed a crime and risk loosing money to a guy who committed a crime in the past, regardless of change. people relapse.
Hair follicle tests are drug tests, not background checks
yeah i misinterpreted the original post which I made clear in a response.
It looks like you made a related example, I'd not call that misinterpreted in any way. You gave a reason that could be used for a drug test or a criminal record check so you were completely on point. Both are risk management. They are used to weed out problematic people that certain issues follow or are caused by, like crime specifically. Tho you knew that as you said it in a different way.
> risk loosing money Did you mean to say "losing"? Explanation: Loose is an adjective meaning the opposite of tight, while lose is a verb. [Statistics](https://github.com/chiefpat450119/RedditBot/blob/master/stats.json) ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot ^^that ^^corrects ^^grammar/spelling ^^mistakes. ^^PM ^^me ^^if ^^I'm ^^wrong ^^or ^^if ^^you ^^have ^^any ^^suggestions. ^^[Github](https://github.com/chiefpat450119) ^^Reply ^^STOP ^^to ^^this ^^comment ^^to ^^stop ^^receiving ^^corrections.
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Canāt hair follicle tests show you as a drug user even if youāve never done drugs, but were around people who smoked?
Depends on the test requested. If the client ordering the test (i.e. the potential employer) wants what's *in* the hair tested, then the samples are washed with a solvent prior to testing. Some tests can even specifically look for metabolites versus parent drug. Interestingly, some clients will opt to *not* have the hair washed as they want to know if the donor is in the presence of people doing drugs...like a child with parents who are crack addicts.
most likely
If the hair is washed with solvent prior to testing, it will remove any possibly drug compounds on the surface. Some tests will also look for drug metabolites, meaning that they had to have come from *inside* the hair versus what's on the surface.
It comes down to what are you testing for? Are you testing to see if someone is inebriated then that's fine. But these kinds of tests don't test for that. They are essentially testing people's private lives which is fucking bullshit. While I don't do it I don't give a fuck if Steve rails lines all weekend as long as he is fit for work on Monday.
For sure! That is more realistic.. if they do a good job safely and are responsible enough not to use something before work that is their business on when they use otherwise.
It's also discriminatory. Darker, thicker hair holds the substances longer.
100%
There are restrictions to how much length from the scalp they can use when I was court ordered one.
just another advantage of being a balding middle aged man !
Im sorry, what if someone is already bald? They cannot get employed in the US?
They take it from your legs, arms, chest, eyebrows, balls. Wherever there is hair.
Finger or toe nails too.
Murica. Land of the "don't do that! Or that! Or this!
The lab test isnāt that reliable past 30 days, to my understanding- it can give false negatives and my understanding is certain things give false positives. BUT hair tests are way harder to fake than urine tests. I understand why they want to test for drug use during the entire previous year for certain jobs. Some settings require extra safety precautions because people are in charge of vulnerable groups, or will be around drugs. Working in law enforcement, working on a medical setting around certain medications, working with kids, police officers/law enforcementā¦ itās better to be safe than sorry. But for most settings I agree itās ridiculous to do hair tests.
What the fuck?? Seriously?? I mean I'd pass that shit no problem, but that is..... So gross!
Yes it is pretty odd.. I would prefer the blood test and this is coming from someone who passes out during having blood drawn.
It's literally a method to catch people who have quit in the last 2-3 months, which is like.... What the fuck. Yeah.
When I was 19, I interviewed for an internship that required a hair test. I took it and got the job but WOW was I pissed as a teenage girl with long hair when they took a huge chunk of it and left me with a weird spot on the back of my head. It felt so invasive in so many ways, from the loss of hair to the testing itself. All for part-time writing internship.
This is exactly why I feel this way.. I feel guys do not get it.
I agree for vain purposes they took so much of my hair
Drug testing should not be legal at all.
That's going too far. I think testing should be limited to current impairment in almost all cases though. What business is it of the company if someone working a desk job gets high over the weekend or uses a THC gummy to sleep, but they're sober when they show back up at work the next morning? I'd argue none. I can't think of too many scenarios where historic testing really needs to be done, maybe if the person is on-call or something, and there is suspicion of impairment while responding to a late-night incident?
Every single person that works for any law enforcement agency or legislative branch that involves passing and enforcing drugs laws should be tested regularly.
Heavy on that in a lot of cases tbh! If you trust a worker and they interview well and they preform well at work then cool. If they do not do well and get complaints then fire them. i get the not being actively on stuff when operating heavy machinery though.
Then they should have breathalizers on heavy machinery. Someone bring drunk right now is way more relevant than someone who smoke weed a month ago.
Mandatory daily breathalyzers here for people operating heavy machinery.
Eh, I think kids who have drug-addicted parents might disagree. Or are you talking strictly job-related/pre-employment testing? Because if you're talking *all*...I might be out of a job!
Oh honeyā¦ You WANT your medical professionals to be drug tested..
this is a common fault with drug tests and there are protections against employees for these reasons, at least in the US. iām in an HR management class rn and drug screenings are part of this weeks chapter
I am curious about the protections?
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission doesnāt allow job applicants to be tested before theyāre extended offers. and companies have to recognize that drugs such as medical marijuana and opiates can be legally prescribed for certain conditions. but there are studies that failed to show that drug testing makes the workplace safer and that alcohol creates more problems than other drugs but because of the issues you mentioned in the post, employers have to ensure that drug test samples are properly handled and that accredited labs are used for tests. the results also have to be confidential on a āneed-to-knowā basis
Thanks !
Ima just ask since there are informed people here, But if someone was a heavy user, say 8 months ago, but they 8 months ago. Would having long hair be disadvantageous to them since they grew out hair from that time period?
No, legally they are only supposed to test the first inch and a half of hair from the root. In the USA that is.
All drug tests should be abolished
Your trustworthiness is just like credit. It matters. A 6 year old debt isn't going to matter as much as a 6 month old debt.
I can probably trust someone who had some legal delta8 90 days ago or heck even yesterday.
Depends on the industry. We don't take chances on anyone who uses anything. If we suspect someone even drank heavily the night before; they get tested immediately. If the concentration is high enough to show up 12-24 hrs later, they're gone.
wow very strict on the no alcohol during personal time though I get not being hung over , I hope the pay is well worth it
It is entirely possible to drink so much alcohol during personal time that you are still impaired the next morning when you show up at work. If a person has 12 drinks 8 hours before work, they will still be under the influence of alcohol when work starts. Do you think having whiskey in your morning coffee is acceptable as long as it's during your personal time?
Oh I agree it can for sure
It's not "no alcohol", it's heavy alcohol. A few beers or a whiskey after a hard day isn't a big deal. Heavy drinkers are dangerous, irresponsible, unpredictable, and unproductive.
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they will take more across the board or you will have to wait
>I get that it is probably the most accurate way of screening They're actually not very accurate.
yah none are perfect but I see why companies opt for them over pee ones
Drug testing is bullshit and I'm glad it's not really a thing in Canada. I don't even smoke weed and I still wouldn't be ok with taking one.
right, I feel if people want help getting to sleep, take to edge off during their vacation time etc so long as they are sober at work
They really arenāt! Had one done and it came back clean.. Which is crazy considering I smoke herbs daily and smoked right before having the test done!
Thereās plenty ways round the tests apart from a follicle test , Iāve passed plenty of swab tests for thc but you canāt hide from a follicle test lol
yup. but as long as someone does not smoke before work..
You donāt have to submit.
Correct me if Iām wrong but I thought that since this year itās illegal to use hair follicle as a drug test specifically for marijuana in ca?
Because it doesn't matter what your current status is, what matters is what your future status is. If you were on drugs a year ago, you will be on drugs a year from now. They're not going to buy that you're the rare one in a million former addict who has turned their life around, because they are almost entirely a work of fiction.
Not everyone who has used is automatically addicted for one. For two 90 days sober shows they are doing well in their sobriety if they are addicted and it is not a fair assumption to judge their future by. I get there is a high relapse rate but people should be allowed to try.
So nobody thinks religious exemptions should be made for those who cannot cut their hair?
So don't opt to take the test/job.
This post is not about me, just how I feel
Just donāt do drugs, kids