The state of Illinois has legalized the use of cannabis on the first of January 2024. Individuals who are 21 and older are permitted to use it both for recreational and medicinal use. A couple of months before the legalization, the law was passed through institutions. Through this law, it is regulated how the companies should test their employees and candidates on illicit substances, like cannabis.
Despite this law, we can see that cannabis, like any other similar substance, is still illegal under federal law. However, it needs to be said that the process of legalization will get to some other states. So, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the legalization reaches the federal level. Until that happens, we will just need to comply with the current legislation. No matter what happens, these examinations will be ever-present.
These tests are given to people who are about to start working in a position that requires sobriety. It is obvious that different states have different regulations about this field. If you’re interested in taking a look at how it is regulated in the state of Illinois, Health Street will deliver you all the relevant answers. But, the question is, what happens when someone fails this exam? Let’s see what should be known about this.
Table of Contents
Employment
Source: shrm.org
As you can presume, every employer has its own set of consequences employees who don’t pass this exam can expect. It all rests on the duties an employee has in their position. In some cases, not passing could mean the loss of the position. These regulations are pretty strict, and it doesn’t matter how competent the employee is, or how long he or she has worked in that particular company.
Sometimes, some businesses are interested in helping the worker to be a part of a recovery program, which will help them to overcome this addiction. Sure, this would cost quite a bit. However, these companies want to help the members of their team, by providing them with a second chance. Participating in these programs is exactly that. But, the employee needs to agree to these conditions.
When it comes to the sanctions, there are many potential ones. For instance, not passing a drug test can mean that someone will need to go to rehabilitation, lose all the unemployment benefits, or contract termination. All the levels within the country are subjects to this sort of test. We are talking about federal, state, and private workers.
Another thing we want to address is that there is a possibility that not passing it will not be known outside the company. Naturally, this relies on the organization’s stature. However, employers can be obligated to report the results of these tests, for a wide array of different reasons, especially when we’re talking about publicly-held companies. So, you can see that there are many potential scenarios.
Pre-Hiring
Source: inoutlabs.com
When we are talking about types of testing, there are two main ones. We are talking about pre-employment and employment. We’ve already talked about employment one, and now, we want to point out all the characteristics of the pre-employment test. As its name is saying, candidates are required to undergo these, and the result can have a say in whether they will be hired or not.
Every corporation has a list of substances that are forbidden to use while someone is employed. So, the organizations have the right to test them on each of these whenever they want. When we’re talking about alcohol examinations, many companies perform these exams every morning to prevent any unpleasant situation that can be caused as a result of alcohol consumption, which is pretty common in everyday life.
Naturally, the candidate can refuse it. But when that happens, he or she will simply not be a part of the candidate’s list. Still, that doesn’t mean that the manager cannot assure the applicant to participate in these at one point. These are usually done just before the offer is finalized. But this is not going to be the case with every business. Once again, it depends on the stature.
Probation
Source: dicindiolaw.com
In movies, the commonest reason for these tests is due to the trial some individual is under. When they visit the officer, ex-convicts are obligated to take these. That doesn’t mean that these will be practiced every time. In fact, the officer has the freedom not to force these whenever he or she believes it is not needed. We’re talking about experienced people.
Since illicit substances usually have some side effects on human behavior or appearance, they can spot these quite easily. Usually, these will be conducted through urine. The reason is that all the traces of these substances can be found here. Naturally, an ex-convict who doesn’t pass it will suffer some consequences. The most severe out of all of these is going back to prison.
Among other sanctions, you will find community service work or rehabilitation. Community service means that the individual will need to commit hours every week to perform these services. Sometimes, these are working in public institutions, hospitals, schools, etc. The time individuals will need to spend working on these will be decided by the court. So, these decisions depend on factors in every case.
The lightest sanctions out of all of them are just a warning. It can happen when an individual has failed a test for the first time. The decision will be made by the officer. But that doesn’t mean that this information will not be put in a record. So, if the individual repeats it, penalties may be much more severe. It is fair for people who didn’t have this sort of experience to receive some sort of threat.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, there are a couple of situations that can happen when someone fails this sort of exam. The outcome depends on many different factors. By having this sort of insight, you would understand all the potential consequences and see why it is significant to avoid them. Be sure to study all of these thoroughly.
