Employee drug testing has become an important part of managing any group of employees. It’s been argued that this is something that should happen in every place of business. Whether or not you agree with this sentiment, it is clear that random drug and alcohol testing is definitely needed in certain industries. Medical/healthcare, transportation, and food industries all demand clarity and cleanliness in order for things to go well. Keeping your staff, property, and clients safe is only made possible through ensuring that all employees are lucid and healthy.
If this is something that has become mandatory at your office, then it is important to have the right drug testing forms ready to access and fill out for each incident. This will generally fall under the stewardship of the HR department, and this department should be ready and organized so the task does not become needlessly complicated.
Necessary Drug Testing Forms
Places of employment that require drug and alcohol testing will need certain forms. The government’s site dealing with these regulations has a comprehensive list of the forms you will need to have on file. Putting in place a good document management system (or DMS) can be very helpful for keeping the following essential forms organized and easy to retrieve and duplicate:
- Testing Form. These forms will require a lot of personal information. Identification, age, birthdate, weight, and other such things will all be necessary. This collection of data is meant to verify the identity of the person being tested as well as to help guide the analysis of any samples taken.
- Consent Form. While it can be required for employees to take these tests, they cannot be administered on unwilling participants. Failure to get consent forms can lead to the results not being valid in any court, and can even cause legal issues like being sued for harassment or failure to disclose. You can instate any penalties you desire for lack of signing this document, but under no circumstances should someone be tested who has not properly filled out a consent form.
- Guideline Paperwork. Depending on the test you choose to perform, there will be different guidelines and instructions to follow. These instructions need to be available to everyone taking and administering these tests.
- MRO Notifications. The Medical Review Officer, or MRO, will require certain documents in order to sign off on the test samples, as well as the results of the exams.
- Training Manuals. This is closely connected to the guideline paperwork. Those who are taking and administering these tests will have to follow the right procedures in order for things to be considered valid and legal.
Document Storage Options
In the past, HR departments have been laden with large filing cabinets full of all of the information, forms, documents, and regulations for a company. In order to utilize any of this important information, it was necessary to scale the mountain of paper work with fingers crossed that the right item was in the right location.
If this is how your HR department is still functioning, then it is time to make some changes. If you’re adding in the need for storing and accessing all of the aforementioned drug testing forms, then you need a cleaner and more user-friendly file-saving format.
This is where document management software (or DMS) programs can help. This is a computer program that will allow you to store all of the vital information right on the computer. No longer will you be treading through a mess of hanging files and paper in varying stages of decay. Save your office some space, money, and hassle by switching these files over to a virtual format.
In addition to all of the other ways this kind of system can make your HR responsibilities much more easily handled, it will make the drug testing situation a lot easier to manage. All of your necessary documents can be stored in a file neatly labeled and organized for the testing purpose. Each essential form can be pulled up, reviewed, filled out, and signed without anyone having to touch a piece of paper. The utility of these virtual storage programs is incredible, and certainly lend themselves well to tasks of this drug testing nature.
Makes Compliance Easier
The government demands that drug and alcohol testing of employees is done in a certain way. They have very strict guidelines of how it is done, where it should be done, who should be handling the process, and when employees can be made to comply with the testing.
A major part of these regulations will be having the right forms in place and properly filled out. Should a compliance check come about, you want to know that all of the right forms have been utilized and stored. When there is a file on your computer that contains all of the necessary information, instructions, and forms, it will be much easier for you to ensure that you are in compliance at each step of the process.
Additionally, when the powers that be come to check on the way this testing has been handled, you can rest easy knowing that all of the drug testing forms have all be handled in the correct manner.
eFileCabinet is the Leader in This Technology
When it comes to transportation document management and DMS technology, there are a lot of options to consider. The leader in the field, however, is eFileCabinet. They have products that make complying with the regulations of transportation much easier and simpler to handle. One major portion of the transportation guidelines just happens to be drug and alcohol testing. Their programs will come with all of the necessary forms and organizational infrastructure you need to get this process handled in the best way for everyone involved.