Media Coverage

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, received a perfect score of 100 from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation on the 2019 Corporate Equality Index, earning the distinction of being a "Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality." The Corporate Equality Index (CEI) is a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. This is third year Quest has earned the designation as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.

Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, hosted Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker at its state-of-the-art clinical testing laboratory in Marlborough, Massachusetts on Friday, March 29. During the visit Governor Baker toured the laboratory, met with employees, and learned more about the company's initiatives in the areas of pricing transparency, Alzheimer's treatment and detection, and combatting the opioid epidemic. Marlborough Mayor Arthur Vigeant joined Governor Baker on the visit.

The prospect of marijuana legalization might inspire visions of weed-smoking breaks at work, or grabbing a joint with co-workers after a hectic day at the office.[CR-LF][CR-LF]But the reality of legalization in Illinois, if it happens at all, would likely be much hazier. Some employers might start turning a blind eye to employee use — as long as workers can still do their jobs — a trend that’s already happening in some other states where it’s legal. Other employers, however, might still ban its use, taking action against employees who test positive for pot, bolstered by federal law under which marijuana is still illegal, experts say. In Colorado, about 96 percent of employers who used the drug testing company Quest Diagnostics in 2017 still included marijuana in their employee drug testing, said Dr. Barry Sample, senior director of science and technology for Quest’s employers solutions business. In Nevada, where recreational cannabis use is also legal, that number was 91 percent in 2017.

Currently 10 states and Washington, D.C., allow recreational use of marijuana, and Illinois, New Jersey and New York are considering doing the same. This puts companies—already grappling with a shortage of workers—in a bind because an increasing number of candidates are failing routine drug tests due to smoking pot in those states, the Wall Street Journal reports. While legalized marijuana has created jobs and brought in additional tax dollars for those states, the spillover effect has more job applicants unable to pass standard drug tests, according to Quest Diagnostics.

In a perspective article in the New York Times, Dr. Diane M. Simeone, who directs the Pancreatic Cancer Center at New York University Langone Health, suggested that early detection is a solution. Quest Diagnostics found that 5.3 percent of retail workers tested positive for drugs in 2017, up from 4.7 percent in 2015, and the highest of any job sector. The Quest sampling suggests that about 837,000 of the 15.8 million retail workers across the U.S. would have tested positive if all had been checked.

An Arizona company has a new colon cancer blood test on the market that sounds like an enticing alternative to the oft-dreaded colonoscopy. The $170 blood test, called BeScreened-CRC, was developed by Phoenix-based diagnostics laboratory Beacon Biomedical and is a screening tool for colon cancer, its developer says. Sonora Quest Laboratories in Arizona has offered the test since December, and no doctor's order is required. It's not covered by Medicare. Coverage by commercial insurance plans varies.

Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, announced today that it will present results of eight studies at the 2019 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting, to be held April 2 – 6, 2019 in Seattle, Wash. (Quest Diagnostics booth 929). These studies by Quest Diagnostics researchers evaluate a broad range of laboratory technologies and best practices for aiding in the evaluation of risk for cancer and other diseases.

Last May, food services and facilities management company Sodexo fired a Massachusetts food supervisor after she tested positive for marijuana. It was standard policy—the employee, Bernadette Coughlin, had fallen at work, breaking her arm, and protocol required a mandatory drug test following an injury. Although Coughlin’s job was not “safety sensitive,” Sodexo’s policy was clear: One strike and you’re out. Quest Diagnostics, the medical testing company, has reported that five out of 16 industries—transportation and warehousing, retail trade, public administration, finance and insurance and wholesale trade—saw double-digit growth in positive drug tests between 2015 and 2017, with marijuana being the most commonly detected substance.

On Mar 22, we issued an updated research report on Quest Diagnostics, Inc. As a part of its two-point strategy, Quest Diagnostics has been focusing on areas with high potential. However, the reimbursement scenario remains a major cause of concern for thisZacks Rank #3 (Hold) company. Quest Diagnostics is currently focusing on diagnostic information services and disciplined capital deployment. Meanwhile, the company’s acquisitions and collaborations with hospitals and integrated delivery networks act as major growth drivers.

Companies facing a shortage of employees from health-care workers to forklift operators are confronting a new challenge: finding candidates who can pass drug tests in states that have legalized marijuana. Mentions Quest Drug Testing Index data.