Fema Employment

Why are people so afraid of drug testing and background checks when applying for a job?

Every job I have ever had in my adult life has required an initial drug test, and random drug tests after that and a background check as well as a credit check. All decent companies as well as the states and federal governments require these for employment. Why do so many people complain about this part of the application process?

Public Comments

1. Either they have things they don't want people to find out about or they think it's an invasion of privacy.
2. They are hiding something, especially drug use.
3. DS88's response is right on. Most hiring companies really want to hire people coming from a drug-free environment as well as having earned a high credit rating because they are able to budget and live within their means without resorting to criminal activity. And isn't that about the same criteria that most of us adhere to when seeking to become a individual with some moral values?
4. I went through an extensive background check for my new job and my concern was not having them find any criminal record (I don't have one), but my credit is poor and I'm ashamed of that and I thought it would be held against me. It wasn't and I passed the background checks. I don't complain about it so much as I just sweat it a bit..part of being a tiny bit paranoid about the little stuff.
5. obviously because they think companies should not have drug testing as a requirement for the job. so you are allowed to drink alcohol after work but smoke pot or use heroin? its ridiculous. the point is the world got along fine before the government started making everyone do this to get jobs, it just wastes a lot of time and money. another point to think of is that it is very easy to get false results on a drug test, as well as to fake the results, and produce a negative when it should be a positive.
6. The problem is that it isn't relevant as to how well you can do your job. Some small parts of the information they gather might have something to do with your performance (illegal drugs in great quantity, etc.), but they also get to learn a lot more about you than any employer really has a right to know. Suppose you had a crazy ex-girlfriend that pulled up a restraining order against you despite your actually having done nothing wrong, or suppose you're taking anti-epilepsy medication and are perfectly fine for this kind of work, or suppose you're diabetic. Suppose you went into a lot of debt paying for the medical expenses of someone really close to you and your credit looks suspect as a result. Suppose you were born into a really poor family and are diligently trying to erase all your student debt and make a better life for yourself. The conclusions employers can draw from this information about how unreliable you are as an employee is based entirely on unfounded assumptions from information they shouldn't have --- and a perfectly good potential employee might be discriminated against for the rest of his life because of matters he has little control over. The job interview should be about what kind of worker you're going to be --- not what kind of person they assume you are.