Institutional Guidelines for Pre-employment Drug Screening

Institutional Guidelines for Pre-Employment Drug Screening

Appointment Process

  1. A letter of offer must be sent to the faculty candidate for a position that meets the criteria for pre-employment drug screening with details of the initial steps required once the position has been accepted.
  2. The faculty candidate may elect to have the screening at Augusta University Health/Augusta University Medical Center Employee Health & Wellness or a non-AU Medical Center certified testing facility.

Au Health/Au Medical Center Certified Testing Facility

AU Health/AU Medical Center Employee Health & Wellness (AUMC EH&W) is the official Augusta University certified testing facility for faculty applicants who require pre-employment drug screening. AUMC EH&W will bill hiring departments for these charges based on the information provided on the AUMC Employee Health & Wellness Service Approval Form.

  1. The hiring department will provide the faculty candidate with the necessary documents required at the time of scheduled for testing.

Non - AU Health/AU Medical Center Certified Testing Facilities

When the applicant selects a non - AU Health/AU Medical Center testing facility not in the Augusta area, the following conditions must be met:

  1. The facility must be certified by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) or College of American Pathology (CAP) to perform urine toxicology.
  2. The applicant must provide the hiring department representative with the name of the facility and mailing address. The hiring department will send the letter (Letter to Non - AU Health/AU Medical Center Certified Testing Facility) to the certified testing facility advising them of the requirements of Georgia law (O.C.G.A. 45-20-111, et seg.) and Augusta University policies.
  3. The facility will be instructed to provide AUMC EH&W with a written lab report and to include a copy of their current SAMHSA or CAP licensure and a written certification of chain of custody regarding each specimen.
  4. Faculty candidates must be screened for the presence of any amount of the following illegal drugs: Marijuana/cannabinoids (THC); cocaine, amphetamines or methamphetamine; opiates; or phencyclidine (PCP).
  5. The facility will be instructed to bill the hiring department directly for the initial drug screening and confirmation test requested up to the amount of $100 per individual faculty candidate. The hiring department is responsible for all charges associated with pre-employment drug screening of faculty candidates.
  6. Failure of the non - AU Health/AU Medical Center certified testing facility to follow the procedures or to provide necessary certifications may nullify the candidate's test results.
  7. A faculty candidate's failure to submit for testing, or who receives a positive result for illegal drugs, will render the faculty candidate ineligible for employment.

VA Faculty

Many Augusta University faculty hold VA appointments. Salary funding and distribution differs with the commitment between the two agencies. It is possible that a faculty member could receive all of their salary from the VA or receive funding from both the VA and Augusta University. Georgia's pre-employment drug testing law applies only to employees and does not distinguish between full-time and part-time employment. Therefore, the law requires that any VA faculty who receive any salary support from Augusta University must submit to pre-employment drug testing. This means any new VA faculty appointment in this category should be advised of the pre-employment testing requirements and must comply with them prior to their effective date of employment.

Testing is not required in the following situations:

  1. Individuals providing services to the VA pursuant to a contract (e.g. shared services, scarce medical specialist services) between Augusta University and the VA Augusta; and
  2. Individuals participating as investigators or co-investigators on research grants, but who receive direct salary support from Augusta University, unless conducting research within a laboratory environment.

*Faculty who receive 100% salary support from the VA are not required to undergo the Augusta University drug screening requirement; however, if their salary distribution changes to include any portion of Augusta University funding, a drug screening will be required at that time. Therefore, it is advisable to request at the time of appointment that they voluntarily undergo the drug screening. Please note that this is on a voluntary basis and should not be construed as a requirement.

Testing by Laboratories Outside the United States

Currently, there is no international licensing or accrediting process for urine toxicology screening; therefore, prospective faculty who reside outside the United States and its possessions must present for and submit to testing at a facility inside the United States.