© 2005 BY THE JOURNAL OF DRUG issuES ARE YOU POSITIVE? THE RELATIONSHIP OF MINORITY COMPOSITION TO WORKPLACE DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING .GILBERT C. GEE, BARBARA CURBOW, MARGARET E. ENSMINGER, JOAN GRIFFIN, DAVID J. LAFLAMME, KAREN MCDONNELL, DAVID LEGRANDE, JACQUELINE AGNEW Although testing for alcohol and drug use is common in the U.S. workplace, relatively little is known about the characteristics of workplaces that test and about the consequences to persons tested. This paper describes the link between drug and alcohol testing and the minority composition of worksites. The data come from a 1999 survey of 264 union officials in the telecommunications industry. These preliminary data suggest minority worksites were more likely to perform pre- employment and just-cause testing and less likely to perform random drug testing, even after considering workplace characteristics such as normative use of drugs. A similar but weaker association was found for alcohol testing. INTRODUCTION Testing for alcohol and drug use in the workplace has become common in the U.S. Despite numerous controversies regarding testing, relatively little is known about the characteristics of the workplaces that test and about the outcomes of persons tested. In particular, little is known about the relationship between testing and ethnic and racial minorities in the workplace. Our goal for this paper is to examine the relationship between dmg testing policies and workplace racial composition. We begin our paper with a brief review of drug testing, drugs, and ethnicity. We advance a framework that considers that drug testing represents a form of Gilbert C. Gee, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the University of iViichigan. Barbara Curbow, Ph.D., is an associate professor at The Johns Hopl<ins University. Margaret Ensminger, Ph.D., is a professor at The Johns Hopkins University. Karen McDonnell, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at George Washington University Medical Center. Joan Griffin, Ph.D., is a core investigator at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Hospital. David J. Laflamme, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the University of New Hampshire. David E. Legrande, M,A., is Director of Occupation Safety and Health at the Communications Workers of America Union. Jacqueline Agnew, Ph.D., is a professor at The Johns Hopkins University. JOURNAL OF DRUG issuES 0022-0426/05/04 755-778