Amazon urges delivery partners not to search for cannabis in driver recruitment offers

By Maureen Meehan

According to Bloomberg, Amazon.com, Inc. is asking its delivery partners to publicly advertise that they will not screen applicants for marijuana use in order to address the company’s lack of delivery drivers.

In June, the e-commerce giant discontinued workplace cannabis use testing for most of its on-site positions, with the exception of those regulated by the Department of Transportation. Now the company is urging its contractors and partners to stop testing their drivers for marijuana, saying the move is necessary to increase applications by up to 400%. Amazon found that screening for cannabis reduced potential applicants by up to 30%.

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Different views, difficult decisions: While some delivery companies seem to agree that screening for weeds is one of the main reasons behind the ongoing driver shortage in the country, others have chosen to keep screening applicants citing the insurance and liability implications.

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“If one of my drivers crashes and kills someone and tests positive for marijuana, that’s my problem, not Amazon’s,” a company owner told Bloomberg anonymously because Amazon stopped its partners from speaking to the media.

Many companies that have chosen not to screen applicants for marijuana are still checking for other drugs like opiates and amphetamines, which happen to more drivers according to one owner.

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Amazon’s advice to address its driver shortage is in line with other internal guidelines on marijuana use, as well as the company’s advocacy of marijuana legalization, in which Amazon correctly quoted the fact that colored communities were disproportionately affected by the cannabis ban are.

Zero tolerance for working with disabilities: However, Amazon says it will continue to have zero tolerance for work with disabilities and treat marijuana use at work the same as it does alcohol.

“If a delivery person is impaired at work and tests positive after an accident or on the basis of reasonable suspicion, this person is no longer allowed to provide services for Amazon,” said an Amazon spokeswoman in a statement, according to Bloomberg.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.