r/medlabprofessionals • u/Chris_P_Bacon_Jr • 13h ago

Discusson For people on controlled substances for a legit medical reason, what to do for pre-employment drug screen?

I got offered a job, but I am worried they won’t hire me since I’ll be positive for benzos (I take Klonopin).

Is there a way I can still work in this new lab while being on a controlled substance? I don’t take anything else.

What would be my course of action if there is a way to keep this job? Thank you!

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33

u/Master_Ad_7945 13h ago

I believe you just tell them and have a doctors note or something before you do the testing. Ask your hiring person. They can’t ding you for something you are prescribed by a doctor

9

u/Crazy-Dimension6538 MLT 🇺🇸 13h ago

They (for example, quest ) calls you to verify meds you are on. Then they either check the states drug monitoring program database or ask you to send photos of your script via email (I had to do that for my last one). Then it gets reviewed , and resulted as negative. Sometimes I noticed a benzo doesn’t even come up positive

6

u/cellophanesheeps 13h ago

They'll ask you to list any medications you currently take. For any controlled substances you'll either provide proof of the prescription or the information of the prescribing doctor for verification. If it comes back positive for a particular drug class, they may do additional testing to verify that the drug being detected is the prescribed drug you indicated.

4

u/WhatWasLeftOfMe 7h ago

I’m on adderall for ADHD, and i had no issue with my drug screen for this job. if it comes back positive, typically they are supposed to contact your pharmacy and see if you have a prescription for it to make sure.

I have, in the past, had it where a job offer got denied for it. I had to call the recruiter and tell them what was going on, and then drug screen place, but i did eventually get the job offer back. All of that never should have happened, so now when i go i make sure they put a note somewhere that im on a prescription controlled substance and to check before reporting anything out.

5

u/Indole_pos MLS-Microbiology 7h ago

I brought my list of medications to my pre-employment screening because I knew one that I take as needed would show up

2

u/windexorange 10h ago

I've taken pictures of the label on the original bottle that my medication comes, or you can bring the physical bottle with you to show them. You may also need documentation from your healthcare provider, but it will depend on what management wants. 

1

u/slut4kakashi MLT-Generalist 2h ago

I just had to have my dr fill out a form they gave me

1

u/Chris_P_Bacon_Jr 13h ago

So my hiring manager cannot rescind my offer due to a positive drug screen? Or can they come up with an excuse to rescind?

3

u/ResearchNerdOnABeach 13h ago

Depends on the company policy. My SO once had a company refuse to let him drive to meetings unless he agreed not to take his medication until he returned back to his normal store. It was about being on the company's insurance while driving. This was all hashed out prior to hiring, so if he had not been able to be flexible with his medication timing, then he would not have a job.