Thousands of firms worldwide follow Amazon to STOP drug testing and firing employees because of global labor shortage

 As employers deal with a global labor shortage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of companies worldwide have eliminated marijuana drug tests as an incentive to build up their workforce.

The staffing firm ManpowerGroup, released a survey this week that found that 9 percent of more than 45,00 firms in 43 countries were willing to ignore recreational drug use if it means filling vacant positions. 

The survey comes after Amazon announced it would no longer test its applicants for marijuana in June, which served as a signal for other large employers to follow suit.

'The global talent shortage shows no sign of slowing, with 69 percent of employers reporting difficulty filling roles,' the survey reported. 'The employment outlook is optimistic, particularly for employers that are prepared to adapt to a new world of work and offer incentives to attract and retain the talent they need.'    

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Amazon announced it would no longer be testing its job applicants for marijuana in June. A recent survey of global employers found that thousands have followed suit

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Another survey from the Current Consulting Group found that a major reason employers are getting rid of testing is because too many applicants are testing positive for marijuana use

The Current Consulting Group's annual employer drug testing survey also found that of the businesses who were eliminating their drug testing policies in 2021, found 36 per cent of them were doing so because they could not fill positions due to high marijuana positives. 

About 42 per cent of them were also concerned about lawsuits and legal liability of testing for the drug as more and more states have passed legislation decriminalizing the use of recreational marijuana. 

So far, 19 states have legalized marijuana either for medical or recreational use. 

Dave Clark, Amazon's CEO of Worldwide Consumer, said that marijuana would be treated the same as alcohol use and no longer be tested for during employee screenings. 

He added that the drug would still be subject to impairment checks whenever an on-the-job incident is reported. 

Earlier this month, Amazon asked its delivery partners to prominently advertise that they do not screen applicants for marihuana use, which Amazon claimed would boost applications by 400 per cent, Bloomberg reported. 

Additionally, the company says that THC screening can cut prospective workers by as much as 30 percent. 

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Amazon claimed that marijuana testing can cut prospective workers by as much as 30 per cent

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Amazon urged its driving partners to prominently advertise their new testing policy

 Apcore Logistics, a delivery partner based in Portland, Oregon, had placed an ad on the job posting site Linkedin for delivery drivers.

At the top of the listing it said in bold letters, 'No THC Drug Testing.' 

Another Portland-based company, Lattitude Logistics, placed an ad on Indeed with similar language.

At the top, the posting says 'NO Cannabis testing!' with an addendum 'Bonuses every Paycheck!'

Already ads are popping up with prominent language for jobseekers who might otherwise think twice before applying 

Across the world in Western Australia, employers said drug testing has caused headaches to fill in the labor shortages after the state government introduced mandatory drug testing policies in 2020 despite marijuana being decriminalized in Australia, Vice reported. 

'We've tried many different media outlets, different sorts of ads, different angles, word of mouth – not even a phone call,' Steve McKenny, the owner of a butchery company, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 

'If we put a sign up we would easily get 40 or 50 applicants. But if the sign says 'must submit to drug testing' it's down to four or five.'