Does McDonald’s Test For Drugs As Part Of Background Check?

The McDonald’s code of conduct which is presented to all prospective and new employees makes it abundantly clear that the company will not tolerate the use of controlled substances or alcohol in the workplace – nor will it allow employees to fulfill their duties at a McDonald’s outlet while under the influence of any intoxicant.

If a senior manager is of the opinion that an employee has transgressed the conditions of this code of conduct, then that employee may be subject to disciplinary action – and the process taken to institute this disciplinary action may very well include a drug test.

In short, the answer to the question of whether or not McDonald’s tests employees for drugs is yes – the company does, under certain circumstances.

However, employee contracts also make it transparently clear that the company reserves the right to test employees for the use of illegal substances randomly. However, this practice is not common to all McDonald’s regional operations.

Employees who have their heart set on climbing the corporate ladder at McDonald’s should be aware that those applying for management positions will have to undergo a mandatory drug test. This practice is common to all McDonald’s operations.

As far as pre-employment drug tests are concerned the company – as mentioned does reserve the right to test for drugs randomly. However, this does not cover pre-employment as the applicant is not yet employed by the McDonald’s Corporation.

However, the decision as to whether or not to test for substance use before hiring an applicant seems to be up to the individual area management. In fact, it may not be applied to all applicants, and the rule seems to be that the decision whether or not to test an applicant may be made on a case by case basis.

As to what drugs McDonald’s would be testing for – this seems to also depend on the unique situation of each operation and the culture of drug use in a particular area. In Cabot, Arizona and certain locations in Florida, Washington and many other regions the method of choice is the ‘5-panel urine drug test’.

The rule of thumb seems to be that if you are considering employment at McDonald’s then you should expect to be screened at some point during your employment – if not immediately prior to being employed. It’s best to be prepared for this eventuality by getting synthetic urine.