IMPROPER DRUG TESTING AND BACKGROUND SCREENINGS HAS DEVASTATING RESULTS
Recently, a demolition contractor in Philadelphia was removing materials from the fourth floor of a building when the entire building collapsed. The building collapse was caused by the actions of an errant crane operator, and the results of his actions tragically killed six people. A doctor who examined the crane operator after the collapse of the building said the amount of marijuana in the crane operator’s blood made him unfit to properly and safely perform his job. It’s important to consider how knowing the crane operators background and criminal history might have prevented this tragic incident from occurring.
Upon closer examination, the crane operator’s criminal record included multiple arrests including multiple instances of possession of controlled substances. If this information had been revealed through a thorough universal background screening and ongoing pre-employment drug testing, then the crane operator would not have been hired to work in a position with heavy machinery in the first place.
Apparently someone should have looked into the company that employed the crane operator as well. While a criminal background check and a pre-employment drug screening would have red- flagged the crane operator, a certified background check on the principals involved in the company that contracted him would have revealed additional information that hopefully would have made them ineligible to be hired at all.
Depending on the type of work that’s involved, there are certainly situations in which not doing thorough employee background checks and pre-employement drug screenings may only involve minor consequences. But as this recent, tragic collapse of this building in Philadelphia has shown us, others can have devastating results. The errant crane operator has been charged with six counts of involuntary manslaughter, 13 counts of recklessly endangering another person, causing a catastrophe and risking a catastrophe.
Recently, a demolition contractor in Philadelphia was removing materials from the fourth floor of a building when the entire building collapsed. The building collapse was caused by the actions of an errant crane operator, and the results of his actions tragically killed six people. A doctor who examined the crane operator after the collapse of the building said the amount of marijuana in the crane operator’s blood made him unfit to properly and safely perform his job. It’s important to consider how knowing the crane operators background and criminal history might have prevented this tragic incident from occurring.
Upon closer examination, the crane operator’s criminal record included multiple arrests including multiple instances of possession of controlled substances. If this information had been revealed through a thorough universal background screening and ongoing pre-employment drug testing, then the crane operator would not have been hired to work in a position with heavy machinery in the first place.
Apparently someone should have looked into the company that employed the crane operator as well. While a criminal background check and a pre-employment drug screening would have red- flagged the crane operator, a certified background check on the principals involved in the company that contracted him would have revealed additional information that hopefully would have made them ineligible to be hired at all.
Depending on the type of work that’s involved, there are certainly situations in which not doing thorough employee background checks and pre-employement drug screenings may only involve minor consequences. But as this recent, tragic collapse of this building in Philadelphia has shown us, others can have devastating results. The errant crane operator has been charged with six counts of involuntary manslaughter, 13 counts of recklessly endangering another person, causing a catastrophe and risking a catastrophe.
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