There is no place in the work place for drugs/alcohol. Ahh, come on, drugs are very where; more and more states are legalizing marijuana. And everyone enjoys a beer now and then. Let’s be adult about this. Well, not so fast. First, some quick stats: 65% of all work place incidents are drug/alcohol related; And 38% to 50% of all work comp incidents are drug/alcohol related. For those of you actually making the work comp premium payments this means a significant portion of your premium costs are related to drugs/alcohol induced incidents. OUCH. Translation, that means dollars that could be used for raises, acquiring new/better equipment, or maybe improved employee benefits. (Employees, are you paying attention here?)
How about liability in the form of lawsuits after the incident. Plaintiff’s lawyers get a boost in their position when drugs/alcohol are involved in injuries. Translation, this means higher settlement amounts.
If OSHA gets involved and the employer does not have a strong drug/alcohol program it is possible for a citation to issue to the employer under the OSHA General Duty Clause, even though OSHA does not have a drug/alcohol standard.
Finally, think of the injured person. Workplace injuries don’t go away when not at work. Injuries follow the employee home, interfere or prevent enjoyment of life, fishing, playing with their children.
Drugs and alcohol have no place in the work place. Drug testing has a place in your workplace as it helps reduce workplace injuries. For more information, check out this article: https://ohsonline.com/articles/2014/09/01/drug-testing-and-safety.aspx