Businesses are quietly dropping marijuana from the drug tests they require for possible employees. One reason why is the increased used of marijuana -- both medically and recreationally. But experts in Southwest Florida say another reason is that testing testing excludes too many potential workers at a time when hiring people and filling jobs is particularly tough.
AutoNation has 37 locations within the state of Florida, including two in Fort Myers. It's one company that's stopped pre-employment testing for marijuana -- a move it made a year ago -- and it's one of the few companies to go public about the decision.
Dr. Shelton Weeks, Chair of the Economics and Finance Department at FGCU's College of Business, said it's because society has changed the way it views marijuana use. He also said another reason companies are ditching the pre-employment pot screening is because the economy is very strong and tightening the labor market.
"We're somewhere beyond full employment right now, and that makes it really hard to fill a lot of lower level positions," Dr. Weeks said.
He said, to put it simply, everyone who wants a job has one, or won't have a tough time finding one. So employers have to make changes to get more people interested in their jobs.
"You've got very limited options. You can increase wage, or you can try to cast a wider net," Dr. Weeks said.
Eliminating pre-employment marijuana screening casts that wider net. It's something Dr. Weeks said could be helpful to struggling fields, and something he thinks is likely to happen more frequently in Southwest Florida.
"You look across all the different industries that are really heavily represented in Southwest Florida in the economy and almost everybody is struggling to hire enough qualified workers," he said.
This move is being made in industries like service, hospitality, artistry, and others where workers aren't required to operate heavy machinery or vehicles.
