Hair-Follicle Drug Testing: Lessons for Employers

If you’re reading this at work, there’s a solid chance you had to pee in a cup before your first day on the job. Or you may have handed over a sample of your hair for drug testing.

It’s also likely your job offer would have been revoked, or your employment terminated, if the drug test was positive.

The data on drug testing by employers is largely imprecise, but a 2016 survey of 3,459 HR professionals done by HireRight showed that 92 percent of employers that perform drug screens use urinalysis, while 8 percent use hair tests. While ...