Employee Drug Testing Athens
Here is an interesting case about occupational medicine and the ever popular world of sports and understanding why employee drug testing Athens is important…
In 2008, two defensive tackles for the Minnesota Vikings tested positive to bumetanide, a diuretic used to mask any detection of steroids during the conduction of a urinalysis. The positive results of the urinalysis showed not only was bumetanide, which is a banned diuretic, present but it was also being used to mask the detection of steroids, clearly violating the NFL’s policy against performance-enhancing drugs. The two athletes were suspended for four games during the 2008 season, seriously hurting the Vikings, as they are two key players in their defense.
What makes the case interesting is the controversy and issues of legality that sparked from it. The two Vikings defensive tackles claimed to have consumed StarCaps, a legal weight-loss supplement containing the bumetanide substance. In the ongoing court battles, the two players claimed the NFL failed to provide advanced notice of the drug screening, a violation of a Minnesota state law requiring three-day notice for drug screening in the workplace. The players also claimed the NFL violated their confidentiality policy by making public the positive results of the drug tests.
The two Vikings players challenged their suspension and were able to play in the 2009 football season, the same season when the Vikings made it to the national championship. However, in 2010, courts ruled in favor of the NFL and they player’s association. A ruling in favor of the Vikings players could have posed a serious threat to the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. If players won any future court cases regarding positive drug test results, the NFL feared the players would have the ability to challenge their results based on the state laws regarding drug testing in the state they reside.
Now, how does this story about performance-enhancing drugs have to do with occupational medicine? Well, the connection is quite apparent, actually. The NFL is a franchise and essentially the employer, and the two Minnesota Vikings players are their employees, playing under their directions and policies. By setting strict policies against the use of performance-enhancing drugs, the NFL is letting the general public know they have zero tolerance for any athletes who abuse steroids, which would be, of course, an unfair advantage on the field.
Every year hundreds of NFL draft picks come through and call
their new teams and states home, but the NFL also has a right to know exactly who they are hiring and letting into
their franchise.
As an employer and top
management of a company, you hold this same right, as well.
Know exactly whom you are hiring and who
could be working for you with pre-employment drug screenings and
employee drug testing Athens
with the professionals at Reddy Medical Group. This team of experienced medical
professionals will conduct efficient and reliable pre-employment drug
screenings and testing at their facilities and help you figure out exactly what
kind of employee you may be letting into the workplace.
The NFL wants people to know they have zero
tolerance with drug abuse, and so should your company!
Contact Reddy Medical Group today and set up
employee drug
testing Athens, Ga. relies on the most!