74% Of All Drug Users Are Working Today…Is One Of Them Working For You?
Consider the numbers. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that drug use in the workplace costs employers $75 billion to $100 billion annually in lost time, accidents, health care and workers' compensation costs. Sixty-five percent of all accidents on the job are directly related to drugs or alcohol. Substance abusers are absent three times more often and use 16 times as many health care benefits. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), substance abusers are six times more likely than their co-workers to file a workers' compensation claim.
1. Federal or State Regulations: Some workplaces must comply with a Federal or State agency’s drug testing requirements. For example, the Department of Transportation, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission are Federal agencies that require contractors working for them to set up drug testing programs.
2. Safety Concerns: Use of alcohol or other drugs on the job can result in accidents, safety problems, and other costly mistakes. As a result, many employers choose to protect their employees and their workplace by starting a drug testing program.
3. High Costs of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse: Research has shown that alcohol and other drug use at work costs money. Workplace drug abuse often results in lower productivity, higher Workers’ Compensation claims, more time away from work, and higher medical costs. It also has been linked to crime on the job and can affect employee mood and well-being.
4. Less Work: People who abuse drugs work 30% to 38% less than non-users.
5. Cost More: Employees who abuse drugs cost employers 300% more in medical cost & benefits
6. More Injuries: People who abuse drugs and alcohol cause over 40% more on the job injuries.
7. Stealing: Employees who abuse drugs and alcohol are more like to steal to support their habit.
8. 70% Are Working: Approximately 70% of current illicit drug users over 18 yrs old are employed.
Is A Drug Free Workplace Program For You?
All employers should become Drug-Free Workplaces because it makes good
economic sense.
Some immediate benefits of becoming Drug-Free include:
· 5% to 20% discount off annual gross Workers’ Compensation premiums in some states.
· The discount also applies to surety requirements and all related administrative fees, thereby also directly benefiting participating self-insured companies.
· A positive test result for an illegal drug entitles the company to deny medical, indemnity and disability claims if injuries are involved. (If self-insured, one denied claim can save thousands of dollars).
· Abusing employees can be terminated for cause and (usually) denied Unemployment Compensation benefits chargeable to the employer.
· Many health insurers also discount premiums for Drug-Free companies.
· Non Drug-Free employers risk hiring rejects from participating companies.
In addition to legislated benefits, there are many other advantages to operating Drug-Free.
In comparison with non-impaired coworkers, drug and alcohol impaired employees:
· are involved in accidents 3.6 times more often*
· file 5 times as many Workers’ Comp claims*
· are 25% less productive on drugs; 35% on alcohol
· are absent from work 16 times more often with 2.5 times more absences of 8 or more days
· use 3 times more sick benefits
· steal 4 times more often from employers and coworkers
* For the first 6 months of 1993, consolidated MRO results for all ASAP Program participants throughout Florida for all categories of drug testing (pre-employment, reasonable suspicion, rehab follow-up, periodic and random), resulted in 9.6% of test being reported as positive. Reasonable suspicion tests alone (primarily post-accident) averaged 28.5% POSITIVE.
