them. More and more employers are starting to feel this way. A 1996 survey by the .
American Management Association found 81 percent of major U.S. companies had drug-.
testing programs at that time compared with 78 percent in 1995 and just 22 percent in .
1987. (May 2) The employer has a right to only certain information and the line must also .
be drawn in the procedure to obtain the information. For example a polygraph has been .
known to make mistakes so this cannot be the sole source of information. The procedure .
in which the tests are taken is a major concern. This decision went all the way to the .
Supreme Court. Samuel K. Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives Association found that .
urine and blood tests were minimally obtrusive. The taking of blood was found to cause .
no real pain or risk and is commonly done in ordinary life. The taking of urine in a .
medical situation with no observation was also found not to cause intrusions. Drug tests .
check for illegal substances. With this exactness drug testing is the most efficient way to .
find which employees are using drugs. While some could argue that a certain employee's .
performance on drugs would be below the level of another employee's performance that .
is not on drugs but is just a poor performer. This leads into the most important point of .
the entire essay that employees have the right to a workplace that is free from the many .
problems of drugs. It could possibly be argued that since employers have to allow their .
employees time off and times of decreased performance due to problems such as sickness .
and pregnancy that they should allow excuses for drugs. However drug use is an .
addiction. Depending on the addiction it must be met frequently. Problems such as .
sickness go away but addictions are constant and not allowable. The work that the .
employee puts in should be their best. "Since the employer has purchased the employees .
time, the employer has a proprietary right to ensure that the time purchased is used as .