--- title: More Employers Are Loosening Drug Policies to Fill Jobs — Even the Federal Government description: Amid low unemployment, the federal government is joining a wide range of employers easing drug test policies to help them hire new workers. authors: - name: Sarah Hansen role: Senior Writer url: https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/ bio: Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. Previously, she covered economic policy and capital markets on the breaking news desk at Forbes. education: Northwestern University, New York University at_money_since: 2021 articles: 347 covers: - Business - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-m-hansen/ former_staff: true editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Business - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2023-05-03T15:08:32.000Z' modified: '2023-05-03T15:30:34.000Z' section: Business tags: - News word_count: 699 canonical: https://money.com/employers-loosening-drug-policies-government-jobs/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Multi-drug screen test kit](https://img.money.com/2023/05/News-Drugtest-ease.jpg) The U.S. government is slowly easing up on a major roadblock to hiring new workers: drug policies. That’s according to a [new report](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/30/us/marijuana-drugs-federal-jobs.html?campaign_id=4&emc=edit_dk_20230501&instance_id=91480&nl=dealbook®i_id=177004868&segment_id=131801&te=1&user_id=30477d4d1869cf63cd11b071daaa2ae3) from the *New York Times*, which finds that the federal government is “significantly relaxing drug screening rules.” The government is joining a wide range of employers that are slowly revamping dated drug policies for workers as the [unemployment rate](https://money.com/unemployment-january-jobs-report-stock-market/) drops and legal marijuana use becomes more common. The *Times* points to the CIA, which in 2022 reduced the time its applicants are required to refrain from using marijuana before seeking employment from one year to just 90 days, and to the FBI, which reduced its own requirement from three years to one year. It also found that over the past five years, the U.S. military has given more than 3,400 new recruits a second chance to pass a drug test after failing one their first day. ## Getting a great job starts with a great resume ### A Resume Builder can not only help improve your resume, but also match it with your career goals. Click on your state to get started. [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/pf31c4dc807e?ap_referrer=%2Femployers-loosening-drug-policies-government-jobs%2F) In 2021, the head of the Office of Personnel Management (the federal government’s human resources arm) issued a [memo](https://www.chcoc.gov/content/assessing-suitabilityfitness-applicants-or-appointees-basis-marijuana-use-maintaining-drug) stating that past marijuana use shouldn’t automatically disqualify a candidate from a government job. That’s not to mention the fact that later this year, the Biden administration is expected to reduce the number of years of past drug use that applicants applying for a security clearance must disclose, the *Times* reports. This is a big deal: In 2022, BLS [data](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/999101.htm) showed that the federal government employed more than 2.7 million people, making it the largest employer in the United States. The changes come as the U.S. [labor market](https://money.com/salary-required-to-start-new-job/) remains desperately [in need of workers](https://money.com/get-new-job-raise-outpace-inflation/), especially younger ones. It also comes as a growing number of states legalize marijuana use (recreational use is legal in 22 states, and medical use is legal in 38 states), and amid a vehement debate about the efficacy and fairness of old drug testing policies. ## Private sector employers eliminate drug tests It has been especially difficult for the federal government to fill open roles and compete with the private sector, which as the *Times* notes boasts higher salaries, more flexibility when it comes to [remote work](https://money.com/how-to-manage-remote-workers/) and a significantly more lax approach to drug use that doesn’t impact an employee’s performance at work. Of course, private employers also have to compete for talent. In 2021, a survey from staffing firm ManpowerGroup found that 9% of employers worldwide said they were [eliminating drug tests](https://money.com/labor-shortage-jobs-no-drug-tests/) to attract and retain workers in an [incredibly hot job market](https://money.com/job-openings-2021/?ref=/labor-shortage-jobs-no-drug-tests/). The same year, Amazon made headlines when it announced it would stop screening applicants for marijuana (except for positions regulated by the Department of Transportation). The company also said it would reinstate employment eligibility for employees who were fired or had their applications deferred because of drug use. “Pre-employment marijuana testing has disproportionately affected communities of color by stalling job placement and, by extension, economic growth, and we believe this inequitable treatment is unacceptable,” Amazon’s Beth Galetti, head of the company’s HR arm, wrote in a [blog post](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/policy-news-views/amazon-is-supporting-the-effort-to-reform-the-nations-cannabis-policy) at the time. ## States roll back drug rules too State and local governments have begun relaxing the rules around drug use, too — for both private and public sector employees. In 2021, for instance, New York state enacted a ban on marijuana testing for most current and prospective workers. In 2020, Nevada banned employers from using pre-employment marijuana testing to screen potential hires. (These laws do have exceptions, however, like for positions involving driving. They also don’t prevent an employer from firing you if you are under the influence at work.) And last year, the state of Louisiana enacted a law that prohibits state agencies from terminating workers who use medical marijuana (recreational marijuana is not legal in the state). It’s one of 14 states that has banned employers from discriminating against medical marijuana users, according to a [recent analysis](https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2022/02/28/workers-who-legally-use-cannabis-can-still-lose-their-jobs) from the Pew Charitable Trusts. As Pew’s analysis points out, however, it’s important to remember that workers in most places can still be fired or denied a job for using cannabis. ## Open more doors with a Resume Builder ### Your resume is one of your most important career tools. TopResume carefully crafts your career story to target the job that you want to land. Click below to get started. [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/bc78f3d35181?ap_referrer=%2Femployers-loosening-drug-policies-government-jobs%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/22338/medium_66de1504-7f5e-4208-b1f7-52cce8fa7de5.png) Having a great resume can help you get closer to your dream job. [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/cd4098400841?ap_referrer=%2Femployers-loosening-drug-policies-government-jobs%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/employers-loosening-drug-policies-government-jobs/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Business", "item": "https://money.com/business/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Human Resources", "item": "https://money.com/human-resources/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "More Employers Are Loosening Drug Policies to Fill Jobs — Even the Federal Government" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/employers-loosening-drug-policies-government-jobs/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/employers-loosening-drug-policies-government-jobs/", "name": "More Employers Are Loosening Drug Policies to Fill Jobs — Even the Federal Government", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-05-03T15:08:32.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/employers-loosening-drug-policies-government-jobs/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/employers-loosening-drug-policies-government-jobs/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2023-05-03T15:30:34.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "More Employers Are Loosening Drug Policies to Fill Jobs — Even the Federal Government", "articleSection": "Business", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/05/News-Drugtest-ease.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Drugtest-ease" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Hansen", "url": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/#author", "description": "Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. 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