Drug Free Business is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization formed in 1988 to assist
employers, regardless of size, start and maintain effective drug-free workplace
programs. This results in a safe workplace, increased productivity, lower
benefit costs and improved profits as a result of the elimination of substance abuse
in the workplace.
We provide third-party administration of drug testing of corporate and small
business drug testing programs. We have over 2,500 member companies nationwide. Many employer associations recommend
us to their members for assistance in starting drug-free workplace programs.
Over 5,000 employers have attended one or more of our workshops on creating drug-free
workplaces.
What is the benefit of having
a drug-free workplace?
Having a drug-free workplace
will improve the quality of your workforce, and reduce the tremendous costs
associated with substance abuse (see reasons
to test)
What do most employers test for?
Most employers test for the five
most common drugs of abuse, which include marijuana (THC), cocaine, amphetamines
(methamphetamines), opiates (heroin, morphine, codeine ), and phencyclidine
(PCP). This combination is often referred to as the NIDA 5 or SAP
5 panel. In certain situations, employers also test for alcohol.
What testing provisions do most
companies implement?
At a minimum, most companies
will do pre-employment, post-accident, and reasonable suspicion testing.
Depending on their policy, companies may also do random, follow-up, base-line,
and return-to-duty testing.
What does the company do when
someone fails a pre-employment test?
By failing a pre-employment test,
the applicant does not meet your hiring criteria. The company would
therefore rescind its job offer.
What if an existing employee fails
the test?
Companies have the option of
having either a No Tolerance, or Last Chance substance abuse policy.
If your company decides to adopt a No Tolerance policy, the employee would
be immediately terminated. If your company adopts a Last Chance policy,
the employee is extended an offer to retain his/her job through the signing
of a last chance agreement, whereby they agree to seek help through an Employee
Assistance Program (EAP). When the EAP professional determines that
the employee is making satisfactory progress, he/she is allowed to return
to work contingent on passing a return to duty test.
How soon after implementing a
substance abuse policy does our company begin testing?
Once a company has implemented
its policy, it should start pre-employment testing immediately. Drug
Free Business recommends that you give your existing employees however at
least 30 days notice prior to testing.
What are the merits of random
drug testing?
Random drug testing is the most
effective way to deter company substance abuse, and the fastest way to convey
a drug-free workplace to employees. Employees who value their job,
will not give in to the temptation of drugs with the knowledge that they
are subject to a company drug test on any given day.
Explain post-accident testing?
The use of post-accident drug/alcohol
testing has shown to decrease a company's number and severity of workers'
compensation (L&I) claims, and consequently insurance costs. All employers
should require drug and alcohol testing after a major work accident.
After our company implements a
drug-free workplace policy, do we have to test everybody in the company at once?
Although a company does have
the option to do an initial "base line" drug test of all its employees,
it is not required to achieve a drug-free workplace.
Absolutely not, any private employer in Washington State can do drug
testing. In fact, certain federal laws require it. There may be
some restrictions in a few other states. Check with us first. Certain NLRB
rulings require union employers to bargain before implementing employee
testing programs.
Why should I do drug testing? It's not the employer’s business what an
employee does on his or her time.
On average, a weekend drug user will cost your company upwards of $14,946
per year. Drug abuse adversely effects your employees, both on and
off the job.
What good is drug testing if there are products on the market to “beat”
the test?
Despite their popularity, there currently exists no adulterating agent
on the market that can mask the presence of drugs in a donor’s system.
But what about false positives?
All screening is conducted through SAMHSA approved laboratories which
require stringent quality control. The laboratory can not afford to
even have one false positive, as it would lose its certification and thus
ability to do business.
Why should I do drug testing? I can tell when an employee or applicant
is a drug user.
Sometimes not even well trained chemical dependency counselors can identify
drug users.
Can't someone test positive because of second hand marijuana smoke, or
because they ate a poppy seed muffin?
Drugs are tested for by the lab at fixed cut-off levels, designed to
rule out the possibility of second hand smoke, or poppy seed ingestion causing
a "false positive".
Companies in the aviation, motor carrier, railroad, mass transit, and
marine vessel industry that have safety sensitive positions (i.e. commercial
drivers, airline pilots, engineers, vessel captains, etc...)
What happens if a company does not comply with these regulations?
Companies that ignore DOT drug/alcohol testing responsibilities are
subject to fines in excess of $20,000 per day the company is out of compliance.
A company in Oregon was recently fined over $100,000 for non-compliance.
Our company has been out of compliance for some time now, what should
we do?
Drug Free Business can assist your company in catching up on its compliance
status.
