Does Walmart Drug Test in 2024? - For the Employees!

If you are looking for an opportunity to get a job at Walmart, you may be curious if one requires a drug test to get the job you are applying for. For the most part, Walmart does not conduct any pre-employment drug tests. However, certain situations may lead Walmart to conduct a drug test and at times it may be at random.

Walmart has a wide range of jobs from different sectors of its operation. If you are looking for a job, there is a high chance that Walmart is offering the kind of job that you are looking for. If you are looking forward to applying for a position at Walmart, you might be wondering if a drug test is required or not. The following is what I uncovered when looking into this matter.

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Does Walmart Drug Test Employees in 2024?

As of 2023, Walmart rarely conducts drug tests for entry-level jobs or even managerial and senior positions. There are, however some jobs where a drug test is required. Those jobs include the deli, pharmacy, TLE, and auto center which have some strict safety standards, and therefore a drug test is required. Even though it rarely happens, Walmart may also conduct a drug test at random. Walmart also conducts post-workplace accident drug tests.

When Does Walmart Drug Test Its Employees?

If you are looking into getting a job at Walmart, it would be wise to know when, how, and if a drug test will be required for your particular case. Some of the reasons that may cause one to get tested are -

Random Testing

Every so often, Walmart may conduct random drug testing of its employees. The main reason for the random drug tests is to make sure that the work environment is safe for all the employees. Most of the random tests are only performed on people working at a particular division, such as those who work in the pharmacy. The random tests are usually well done and take place at the local manager's discretion.

Pre-Employment Testing

Before undertaking your Walmart Orientation, you may be required to undertake a drug test. The test depends on various factors such as the particular job that you are applying for. It is however evident from what many current and ex-Walmart employees have stated, that Walmart very rarely drug tests for interviews or orientations in 2023.

Additionally, certain jobs require you to be highly skilled or require one to operate heavy machinery. In those types of jobs, Walmart is more likely to perform a drug test before you are hired. Other similar positions that might require a drug test include, working in the deli with knives, pharmacy, auto center, and the firearms department.

If you are required to take a pre-employment drug test, the information will be given to you after the interview. The drug test will not take place during the interview and may be performed on the same day of the interview or get rescheduled to a later date.

Suspicion Testing

If you are suspected to be under the influence of drugs during the job, it is up to your supervisor or manager to issue a drug test for you. The issuing of the drug test is within the rights of Walmart as your employer and can happen at any time. The test would be performed if your behavior indicates that you are under the influence of drugs during working hours.

Post-Accident Testing

In the case that you were to be involved in a workplace accident in Walmart, you are likely to be subjected to a drug test even if you were not the main cause of the accident. The main reason for the drug test is to ascertain the cause of all on-the-job accidents as well as to keep the workplace safe for all the employees.

What Types Of Drug Tests Does Walmart Conduct On Employees?

Currently, the urine test is what Walmart uses to conduct all of its drug tests. The procedure is simple as the only thing the employee has to do is fill a small cup with urine, which will be used in the test. The urine collection is done in a bathroom. To make the process legitimate and avoid cheating, one is not allowed to bring anything else into the bathroom when collecting the urine sample.

There are several requirements for a sample to be considered viable. Certain checks such as temperature checks are made to make sure that the urine sample is genuine. If there is suspicion that you have altered the drug test, the test results will be assumed to be positive.

What Types Of Drugs Do Walmart Screen For?

The urine test performed by Walmart only tests for a small number of commonly abused drugs. These drugs include Marijuana, Methamphetamines, Heroin, Cocaine, and PCP.

How Long Does A Drug Test Last In Walmart?

Once you have been notified by Walmart to submit a drug test, you will have at most 24 hours to do so. The initial sample collection process is quick and often takes a few minutes. Since the drug test administered is a urine test, the results are quicker than other tests and thus the lab will have your results in one or two days.

What’s Walmarts Policy if You Fail a Drug Test?

If you were supposed to avail yourself of the drug test and fail to do so, or the test is performed and your results come out positive, you will not get the position that you were interviewed for. Additionally, if you were already a Walmart employee and you undergo a drug test and the results come out as positive, your employment may be terminated.

Does Walmart Drug Test At Orientation?

Drug testing at Walmart during orientation mainly depends on what you are being hired for. For instance, those working with anything to do with the pharmacy require a drug test. Drug tests are not normally performed for most of the other roles. Another factor that may make one get tested for drugs is if one was to get injured or gave Walmart a reason for them to conduct a drug test.

How Accurate Are Walmarts Drug Tests?

No drug test is always 100% accurate. Since Walmart uses the urine test for their drug test, the results returned are accurate for most of the employees. It is however important to note that at times there are false positives and false negatives.

When performing the urine test, an Immoussay or Elisa test is performed to detect the drugs and their metabolites. If there is a false positive, the sample is again tested using gas chromatography or a mass spectrometry test. The series of tests are put into place to make sure that is maximum accuracy when performing the test.

Does Walmart Test For Marijuana?

Marijuana is a commonly abused drug and thus is among the list of drugs that are tested for in Walmart. The main concern with Marijuana is that some people use it for medical purposes and this is making drug testing for marijuana more complicated. Another factor that makes testing for marijuana complicated is that 36 total states have legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Recently, the Arizona federal district court passed a judgment against Walmart for the termination of an employee who had been prescribed medical marijuana (MMJ). The court ruled that Walmart had not established evidence that the employee had not been impaired by the MMJ during working hours.

This shows that Walmart will drug test for marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes. And one might lose his/her position if the test turns out positive.

Does Walmart Consider If One’s Drug Test Is Positive Because They Are on Small Doses of Medically Prescribed Drugs?

The case against Walmart, when Walmart terminated the employment of an employee who was using prescribed medical marijuana shows that Walmart considers drug tests to be positive even if the drugs are consumed for medical purposes and are taken in small quantities.

Conclusion

As part of Walmart’s drug testing policy, reporting to work under the influence of alcohol or other illicit drugs is prohibited. According to Walmart’s policy, employees should submit to a drug test if they were to encounter a workplace injury requiring medical attention. Additionally, Walmart’s employees who work in the warehouse or operate directly or indirectly under the Department of Transportation (DOT) will also be required to undergo a drug test mandated by federal law.

The standard drug test that is administered by Walmart is the urine test. Medical marijuana is included in the list of illicit drugs among Opiates, Phencyclidine (PCP), COC, and Amphetamines that are been tested for by Walmart. Drug tests are rarely performed during orientation and if they were to happen they would only be administered for certain people working in particular divisions.

Some of the roles that require one to get tested for drugs are a deli, pharmacy, TLE, and the Auto Center. Reasons that may cause a drug test include random testing, pre-employment testing, suspicion testing, and post-accident testing.