Employers having hard time finding workers over drug tests

ATLANTA — As Georgia's unemployment rate decreases, employers have a new hurdle to overcome: finding qualified job applicants who can pass a drug test.

Georgia's Department of Labor told Channel 2’s Lori Geary this problem is far from isolated. They see it a lot with entry-level positions and in industries that require clean records while on and off the job.

“We carry military personnel ... in addition to children,” said John Sambdman, CEO of Samson Trailways in Hapeville.

Sambdman's father founded the charter bus company in 1983. They have about 100 employees but lately it's getting hard for them to find qualified drivers.

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“Less people are making that cut just because we're finding issues with drug abuse or having a marijuana charge or we send them to a pre-employment drug scree and they fail,” Sambdman said.

The challenge is so difficult that for the first time, Samson Trailways has to outsource its recruiting, including drug testing.

“Typically, they can refuse it but they'll usually say something like, ‘Oh, I found a different job, I don't have to worry about it.’  A lot of times once they’re employed by us, what catches them is a random drug test,” Pro Source recruiter Kaitlin Willey told Geary.

“This is a nationwide problem,” said Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.

Butler said the problem has become severe, in part, because so many companies now require background checks and drug tests. He told Geary it's also hard to track how many are failing or refusing to take the tests.

“I could probably easily say it's between 10 and 20 percent and I’m probably a little low,” Butler said. “The problem is as soon as one of these individuals hears that ... 'so and so is hiring 100 people and by the way, they drug test,' that person never shows up.”

“We tell them if you're not going to pass, don't go. Just tell me now because it costs me about $50 per test,” Sambdman said.

“Out of 150 applicants I may have sent 30 candidates here. After all the vetting, we might have walked away with 10 drivers,” Willey said.

Willey said that also includes an extensive background check, but some applicants never get that far because if they refuse a drug test, that counts as a positive and goes on their employment verification record.

Cox Media Group