Woman Thought She Was Getting Drug Test for New Job, Says She Was Slipped a Pregnancy One

By Mustafa Gatollari

Published Sept. 19 2022, 7:24 a.m. ET

Source: Getty | Twitter @clairemkbowen

Although fewer and fewer employers are asking potential new hires to take drug tests, many businesses still utilize them as part of the onboarding process. This trend has been in the making for years, and large-scale social changes have contributed to drug testing becoming less and less prominent.

Recreational marijuana usage has been cropping up in various states across America, and there have been bills passed to federally decriminalize cannabis as well. That, coupled with the "tight labor market" in 2022 means that companies are not being as selective as they were previously in order to fill open positions, which means that they've been ditching drug testing in order to secure themselves larger pools of applicants.

And for employers that still drug test candidates, there are certain protocols they must abide by when it comes to deciding whether or not they hire someone based on their test results. For instance, if there are prescription painkillers or medications that come up in their blood work, the on-boarding team cannot discriminate against someone because of a medical issue.

The same goes for pregnancy, which is why so many Twitter users are incensed over this woman's claim.

Source: Twitter | @ClaireMKBowen

Claire McKay Bowen tweeted that a friend of hers was applying for a part-time job at a school district. She had to take a drug test prior to accepting the position, but said after reviewing her results, that a pregnancy test was included in the list of evaluations she was subjected to.

Hi everyone. I had no idea my tweet I made right before bed would get this popular. See below tweet on some updates. Another update is that the hiring for the school district for this specific part time job is through the county's sheriff department.https://t.co/UR6f3joApY

— Claire McKay Bowen (@ClaireMKBowen) September 14, 2022 Source: Twitter | @ClaireMKBowen

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "The Pregnancy Discrimination Act amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII, which covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments."

Ok, last update for a bit. I cannot answer everyone's comments; I do have a full time job. My friend and I are looking into various avenues, but I will not reveal anything further due to the sensitivities of this situation.

— Claire McKay Bowen (@ClaireMKBowen) September 14, 2022 Source: Twitter | @ClaireMKBowen

In short, that just means employers can't say they won't be giving you a job because you're pregnant, even if it comes to hiring someone: "An employer cannot refuse to hire a pregnant woman because of her pregnancy, because of a pregnancy-related condition, or because of the prejudices of co-workers, clients, or customers."

School District implies public school aka government entity. What state is this? If she had a positive pregnancy test and no baby appears is her employer turning her in?

— Elaine (@EWJLang) September 14, 2022 Source: Twitter | @EWJLang

Claire wrote in her tweet: "Twitter universe. My friend did a drug test for a part time job for the local school district. When she got her results, she found out that the district also did a pregnancy test. Besides ethical issues, this seems like a legal red flag given she wasn't told this would be done."

I’m stunned by this. I’ve been in charge of drug test vendors & setting up screens for a decade. I’ve NEVER seen pregnancy tests as part of the process. I can see no reason, beyond discrimination, that it’s necessary.

— Emma, the HR Bee 🐝 🇺🇦 (@xoxoemilyrae) September 14, 2022 Source: Twitter | @xoxoemilyrae

She added that while the part-time job is at a local school, it's been staffed through the "county's sheriff department."

Claire also said that she looked through the drug test agreement with her friend and they couldn't find any written consent pertaining to a pregnancy test and added that her friend's husband took the same drug test as well, and a pregnancy test wasn't listed on his.

Sue and don’t work there. Drug tests are an archaic remnant from Nancy Reagan and should be stopped. Not to mention an invasion of privacy.

— Pauline Criel (@pecriel) September 14, 2022 Source: Twitter | @pecriel

While that might seem obvious, there were some Twitter users who pointed out that pregnancy tests could also be a cost-effective solution in assessing whether or not someone is at risk for cancer, and even men could use these evaluations to learn whether or not they have testicular cancer in some instances.

As a non-American I find it really weird that you would need a drug test for a job like that at all. Around here the only jobs that require pre-employment screening are for heavy industry jobs like equipment operators etc. That seems awfully invasive for a school district job.

— Brodie (@BCPilotguy) September 14, 2022 Source: Twitter | @BCPilotguy

But because Claire's friend and her significant other both took the test, it's doubtful that the pregnancy test was being utilized to assess whether or not the woman was at risk for cancer.

Many people were shocked at the admission, and some mentioned other "no-no" questions, like whether or not someone has a car in their interviews.

I'm advocating for what they did, however I've heard of this before in order to help determine if the sample comes from the same person (eg, female "donates" clean urine for a male to submit).

— 1.3.6.1.5.5.7.3.2 (@_uxp) September 14, 2022 Source: Twitter | @_uxp

Others mentioned that while asking a candidate if they're pregnant or not isn't exactly illegal — the act of discriminating against them is, they wondered why an employee would ask if they didn't intend to do something with that information?

What do you think? Is it a huge red flag for an employer to slide in a pregnancy test without someone's knowledge before they hire them?

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