Drug Testing At Work Place
- Date: 2007-05-27 - Word Count: 584
Share This!
According to the federal government estimates companies lose $82 billion in productivity each year because of substance abuse. Now, a growing number of employers are fighting back with workplace drug programs.
Is it really needed to test at work places?
According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, more than two thirds of individuals who report using or abusing drugs and alcohol are employed...50 percent full time and about half of them part time.
The cost by drug abusive employers in industry is estimated at over one hundred billion dollars a year. Three quarters of this cost is due to lost employment and reduced productivity and about 25 percent is due to medical costs and the cost of treatment for addiction.
Drug users are almost four times as likely to be involved in a workplace accident as sober workers and five times as likely to file a workers' compensation claim, according to government data. Drug users miss more days of work, show up late and change jobs more often. The cost of a drug test, meanwhile, is usually less than $50.
Is Drug Testing at Work Place Legal?
If you plan to use alcohol and drug testing as a part of a workplace substance abuse policy, there are many legal issues that must first be addressed.
Drug testing -and particularly random drug testing is not allowed in every state in the U.S. Before proceeding with such a policy, a company needs to check with its state Department of Labor for current laws. Even if such testing is allowed, and employees are found to be using drugs and alcohol, employers may find their options are limited in how they can respond.
Advantages of Drug Testing At Work Places
There are four advantages of drug testing at work.
1.Safety:
There is concern that an individual who is impaired by alcohol or drugs is an increased safety risk to him or herself, coworkers and/or the public. This may be of particular concern where employees have safety-critical functions. This is true, for example, of air traffic controllers, train drivers, ambulance drivers, pilots, bus drivers, miners and quarry workers.
2. Organizational efficiency:
It is believed that the use of alcohol and drugs can be a causeof low productivity, absenteeism and high staff turnover. It is further assumed that drug testing can reduce the number of working days that are lost through staff absence, increase productivity and reduce the costs of recruiting and training new employees.
3. Reputational risk:
Some employers are concerned about the damage that they believe can be caused to the reputations of their organisation as a result of alcohol and drug use among their workforce. The use of illegal drugs by employees will be a particularly sensitive issue in some professions, such as the police force and the prison service.
4 Employee welfare:
It has been suggested that drug testing can help to improve the health and welfare of the workforce by deterring drug use and by helping to identify staff who have problems. These individuals can be encouraged to seek help by their employers and supported in their efforts to address their substance misuse problems.
DrugTestStrips.com is an online store offering drug test kits and drug screening products in several formats including blood, urine and oral drug test kit. DrugTestStrips.com offers FDA-approved urine drug testing kit as well as DOT-approved alcohol testing products. These drug test kits can be used discreetly for at home drug test or for random employee drug testing. Some of the popular products are marijuana drug test, breathalyzer and oral drug test.
Is it really needed to test at work places?
According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, more than two thirds of individuals who report using or abusing drugs and alcohol are employed...50 percent full time and about half of them part time.
The cost by drug abusive employers in industry is estimated at over one hundred billion dollars a year. Three quarters of this cost is due to lost employment and reduced productivity and about 25 percent is due to medical costs and the cost of treatment for addiction.
Drug users are almost four times as likely to be involved in a workplace accident as sober workers and five times as likely to file a workers' compensation claim, according to government data. Drug users miss more days of work, show up late and change jobs more often. The cost of a drug test, meanwhile, is usually less than $50.
Is Drug Testing at Work Place Legal?
If you plan to use alcohol and drug testing as a part of a workplace substance abuse policy, there are many legal issues that must first be addressed.
Drug testing -and particularly random drug testing is not allowed in every state in the U.S. Before proceeding with such a policy, a company needs to check with its state Department of Labor for current laws. Even if such testing is allowed, and employees are found to be using drugs and alcohol, employers may find their options are limited in how they can respond.
Advantages of Drug Testing At Work Places
There are four advantages of drug testing at work.
1.Safety:
There is concern that an individual who is impaired by alcohol or drugs is an increased safety risk to him or herself, coworkers and/or the public. This may be of particular concern where employees have safety-critical functions. This is true, for example, of air traffic controllers, train drivers, ambulance drivers, pilots, bus drivers, miners and quarry workers.
2. Organizational efficiency:
It is believed that the use of alcohol and drugs can be a causeof low productivity, absenteeism and high staff turnover. It is further assumed that drug testing can reduce the number of working days that are lost through staff absence, increase productivity and reduce the costs of recruiting and training new employees.
3. Reputational risk:
Some employers are concerned about the damage that they believe can be caused to the reputations of their organisation as a result of alcohol and drug use among their workforce. The use of illegal drugs by employees will be a particularly sensitive issue in some professions, such as the police force and the prison service.
4 Employee welfare:
It has been suggested that drug testing can help to improve the health and welfare of the workforce by deterring drug use and by helping to identify staff who have problems. These individuals can be encouraged to seek help by their employers and supported in their efforts to address their substance misuse problems.
DrugTestStrips.com is an online store offering drug test kits and drug screening products in several formats including blood, urine and oral drug test kit. DrugTestStrips.com offers FDA-approved urine drug testing kit as well as DOT-approved alcohol testing products. These drug test kits can be used discreetly for at home drug test or for random employee drug testing. Some of the popular products are marijuana drug test, breathalyzer and oral drug test.
Related Tags: drug testing, alcohol and drug testing, alcohol detector, breathalyzer, alcohol test, alcohol testing, digital alcohol detector, digital alcohol teste
Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles
Recent articles in this category:
- Dental Insurance For Individual Can Be Of Help At Time
Dental problem may cost one a lot of money and pain. But, practicing a reasonable care could decreas - Personal Trainer For Perfect Health
There is a general misconception that need for a fitness trainer comes for novice or from those who - Varicose Veins - Causes, Symptoms, Treatment
The majority of people after thirty notice the changes that appear with the maturing. In this case t - Scenar Therapy - Self-treatment Or Healing Partnership
Do you want to learn about a device which will help you to ease your pain? If you get this kind of a - Scenar - 5 "no, Nos" Of Scenar
Are you fed up with the pain in your body? Various parts of our body seem to ache due to different r - Scenar Device - 5 Tips On Travelling With Your Scenar (skenar) Device
You might be aware of scenar which has become quite popular these days. This is actually the acronym - Scenar Therapy - How To Treat Your Pet With Scenar
There are many alternative methods of treatment that are being invented these days. Lots of people a - Your Options For The Treatment For Appendicitis
Appendicitis is considered to be a surgical illness. Due to its severe character, the treatment for - How To Choose The Right Copd Medication
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD does not have any cure. But with the help of medicines - Septic Arthritis: Infectious Agents Penetrate Joints' Spaces
Another major type of arthritis is septic arthritis, which is also known in various terms like: pyog
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Drugs - the Last Alternative for Adhd in Kids
Anyone over the age of thirty who has grown up with ADHD understands that there was not much help av - Foods To Eat To Gain Weight
Malnutrition has the same degree of problem as obesity. There are people who are too skinny, they fi - Understanding Postpartum Clothing
The same way most pregnant women dream of the day when they will begin showing for wearing maternity - Kegel Exercising for Bladder Control and Enhanced Sexual Pleasure
Kegel exercises strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor, thereby improving the urethra and/or rec - The Use Of Weight Loss Herbs
Nothing has garnered more attention in today's world than the success or failures of weight loss pro - A Simple Acid Relux Cure
Many people today are afflicted with heartburn. If they eat food that is too spicy, they get heartbu - Five Effective Household Back Pain Treatments
Back pain treatment comes in lots of forms, from exercise to pain mediction. Standard and most wides - Herbal Remedies - Can They Cure What Ails You?
You've probably heard about herbal remedies before and how they can treat a variety of health proble - Natural Relief for Tinnitus - What are your Choices
Natural Relief For Tinnitus - Alternative Options Did you know that there are an estimated 50 t - Birthing Around the World
Since ancestral times, different cultures showed off different customs and beliefs around the miracl