At the request of Congress, the General Accounting Office (GAO) conducted a study of drug testing of employees by employers. To identify and obtain the most recent surveys on drug testing policies and practices in the private sector, the GAO searched 14 computerized bibliographic files and discussed information needs with representatives of 35 public and private organizations knowledgeable about drug testing practices. From this search, 10 usable surveys were found and analyzed. The survey data indicate that (1) drug testing is a common, but not universal private sector practice, more likely among larger firms; (2) firms are more likely to test applicants than employees; (3) more firms plan to implement drug testing in the future; (4) some firms do not provide confirmatory tests to employees or applicants who initially test positive; (5) some firms retest employees or applicants using the same type of test as that used initially; and (6) some firms do not tell applicants that the reason they were not hired was because of a positive drug test. The GAO plans to continue the study on drug testing in the workplace and to determine the regulatory controls over drug testing laboratories. (KC)

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