My Employer Is Making Me Get Drug Tested, But The Drug Testing Lab Requires A Mask
Make HR do their job.
A reader writes:
Dear Allan,
I still cannot get a drug test for work because [Redacted Name of Lab], the workplace lab contractor, will not see me without a mask. They say there is no exception, and I cannot read their company policy because those are proprietary documents. They claim the only policy I need is the mask icon sign on the front door.
Warmly,
Red State Unmasked
—
Dear Unmasked,
Thank you for your note.
I’ve seen this problem before. Your employer will likely have your back on this situation and HR should be able to find you another facility or to talk to them for you. If the test is required for work, it would be a big employment law issue for HR to require you to go to that one facility that will not see you. You don’t need to get into all that though.
If you have an HR contact, I would just explain the situation and ask them for a testing facility that will not require a mask.
While the person at the front door of the testing facility thinks they can treat you like a peon, the person who manages that contract will not like receiving that phone call from your HR department about you being turned away.
So my suggestion — a one sentence phone call or email to HR. “Would you please provide the address for a testing facility that does not require face masks? This one turned me away.”
If HR asks why you can’t wear a mask say “I would prefer not to talk about that.” If they persist in being nosy, say the same “That’s private. I would prefer not to talk about that.”
Does that approach sound workable? Please let me know how that goes.
Respectfully,
Allan
For more like this on how to navigate life maskless, read the bestselling “Face Masks in One Lesson.”
For more on why that is so important to do, read “Face Masks Hurt Kids.”
And for hard hitting emails on this and more, sign up for Allan’s emails at RealStevo.com.