Definition - What does Invalid or Inconclusive Sample mean?
An invalid/inconclusive sample refers to an initial drug testing specimen that receives an incomplete designation status, usually pending further testing analyses to establish a negative or positive test result to override any potential discrepancy. Different factors may contribute to an invalid/inconclusive sample, depending on the circumstances, such as an applicant/employee tampering with a sample (i.e. a diluted specimen) or an erroneous technicality via drug testing protocol.
SureHire explains Invalid or Inconclusive Sample
For many employers, an invalid/inconclusive sample may impact an applicant or employee’s ability to hold a safety-sensitive position. However, companies often face conflicting repercussions through recognizing human privacy rights laws upholding drug and alcohol dependency as a legitimate disability against workplace health and safety policies that advocate a drug-free climate in the workplace. Although urinalysis is the preferred method of drug screening procedures in Canada, employers must contend with invalid/inconclusive sample disparities that may purportedly suggest ongoing drug use before additional testing measures can support original test findings.
Drug and alcohol testing is gaining traction as many Canadian subsidiaries under U.S.-based parent organizations uphold drug testing parameters, especially when impairment is a catalyst for reasonable cause, workplace accident, or near-miss scenarios. Hence, it is crucial to administer thorough drug testing procedures to establish causal factors associated with invalid/inconclusive samples, leveling any inconsistencies that may dictate either adulteration/tampering or lax protocol by a laboratory technician. Employers must realize that invalid/inconclusive samples do not indicate a positive or negative test result, drawing on additional testing measures to address the questionable nature of a provided specimen for drug clearance reasons.
