A recent article in Yahoo Finance highlights why we think you should steer clear of Amazon delivery vans. It’s no secret that the United States is enduring an employee shortage at the moment, and businesses across the country have been left to come up with ways to incentivize new applications. Amazon has come up with an incentive that could benefit the company, but could also introduce problems for everyone else. That is, they have started to recruit marijuana users for delivery driver positions.
The new change is almost sure to lead to an influx of applications (up to a 400% increase, Amazon estimates). This certainly massively increases their hiring capabilities, but at what cost to everyone else? Let’s consider how this new policy will likely impact the general public.
At the ground level, Amazon is putting drivers on the road at direct risk by no longer screening for marijuana usage. The reality is that a driver could very feasibly toke up before a delivery and be involved in a major accident as a direct result. Amazon combats this viewpoint by reassuring the public that any at-work impairment will lead to instant termination. That’s not very comforting considering the damage could already be done by the time impairment is detected.
We also have to keep in mind that the recognizable blue Amazon vans we see all over town are usually run by Amazon delivery partners, not Amazon itself. If a potentially deadly accident takes place, the responsibility would fall on the partner- not Amazon. Amazon can afford multi-million judgments if one of their toked-up drivers kills a family while under the influence, but the average delivery company certainly cannot. Essentially, there is only one party that stands to benefit from the new testing policy: Amazon. While they could increase wages to compete with other deliver driver positions, they have instead opted for the more affordable option that puts their partners and everyone on the road in danger.
For the liability and safety of their business (and of everyone on the road) , it is still in the best interest of business owners to keep marijuana in their drug testing programs, and to follow up initial testing with random drug testing .
James P. Randisi, President of Randisi & Associates, Inc., has since 1999 been helping employers protect their clients, workforce and reputation through implementation employment screening and drug testing programs. This post does not constitute legal advice. Randisi & Associates, Inc. is not a law firm. Always contact competent employment legal counsel. Mr. Randisi can be contacted by phone at 410.494.0232 or Email: info@randisiandassociates.com or the website at randisiandassociates.com
