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Emmalyse Brownstein
- BI asked the largest banks if they still test for marijuana and other drugs.
- Of the ones that responded, none screen applicants or employees for marijuana.
- Most have removed drug testing entirely as part of the hiring and employee screening process.
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Drugs and Wall Street have been known to go hand and hand, but the industry's substance use is different today than in years past, as BI recently explained. And as attitudes toward cannabis legalization in the US shift, pre-employment drug tests are becoming a thing of the past — even at some of the most buttoned-up institutions on Wall Street.
About 88% of Americans say some form of cannabis should be legal in the US, according to a Pew poll conducted in October 2022. We're nearly halfway there — recreational use of cannabis is legal in 24 states and the District of Columbia. In New York, cannabis was officially legalized in 2021, and marijuana dispensaries have been popping up since the end of 2022.
In 2019, New York's City Council passed a bill that bars employers in the city from forcing job applicants to take drug tests for marijuana use. The bill, which went into effect in 2020, does make exceptions for drug testing in "safety-sensitive" industries like law enforcement and construction. And last year, The New York State Department of Labor released guidance stating that employers can't test employees for marijuana use unless they are visibly impaired on the job or federal law mandates testing (like for drivers of commercial motor vehicles).
Many of the world's largest banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, are either headquartered in New York or have large offices there, meaning that this shift affects a significant portion of their talent pool and hiring practices. It's natural, therefore, that some of the country's largest and most prestigious employers have reevaluated their policies on testing job applicants and recent hires for marijuana.
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BI reached out to seven investment banks with a significant presence in New York City, including JPMorgan and Citi. We asked about marijuana testing as well as screening for other substances as part of their hiring process and regular employee monitoring. We found that, for the most part, these employers no longer screen applicants for marijuana use. Many of them don't test for any drugs at all.
See what we learned about drug testing for job seekers and current employees at Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and more.
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Bank of America
A spokesperson for Bank of America confirmed that the firm does not test new hires or current employees for drug use.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-headquartered bank has not had to change its policies in light of the New York City bill, a Bank of America spokesperson previously told BI.
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Citigroup
Citi doesn't require drug testing as a condition of employment, a bank spokesperson said. This goes for both new hires and existing employees.
In 2019, BI reported that Citigroup was reevaluating its stance on testing job applicants for marijuana use. The bank also held high-level discussions among senior executives about how closely it should work with the cannabis industry or clients interested in doing cannabis deals.
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Goldman Sachs
A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs told BI that the bank does not test new hires or current employees for marijuana or other substances.
Goldman's policy is a relatively recent change. In 2019, a Goldman spokesperson told BI the bank does drug test new hires, though the screening process did not include marijuana.
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JPMorgan
A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase declined to comment on the bank's drug-testing policies.
A document obtained in 2019 by BI showed that JPMorgan did urine test all of its supplier's employees, at the supplier's expense, at a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) certified site.
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Morgan Stanley
A Morgan Stanley spokesperson told BI that the bank does not test employees or new hires for any substances.
UBS
BI included Credit Suisse in earlier versions of this story, but after the bank collapsed in March 2023, UBS acquired it. UBS did not respond to BI's request for information on its drug policies, and Credit Suisse declined to discuss its pre-employment drug testing policies with BI last year.
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Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo does not screen new hires or current employees for marijuana or other drugs, a spokesperson told BI.
"Wells Fargo is dedicated to maintaining a drug-free workplace. All employees are required to perform their job duties unimpaired by illegal drugs, alcohol, or the improper use of legal substances. All employees are prohibited from working or reporting to work when impaired by alcohol or drugs. Drug testing is not part of our pre-employment eligibility review," the spokesperson wrote in a statement.
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