Testing It Up

In a move to increase the confidence of Arizonans who patronize “for hire” vehicles, Governor Jan Brewer approved a bill earlier this month that requires drug testing for taxi, livery, and limousine drivers.

Gov. Brewer signed into law SB 1087, a first-of-its-kind legislation in Arizona, which mandates taxi, livery, and limousine companies in the state to conduct pre-employment drug testing and annual, random drug testing on all drivers. The new law also requires these companies to maintain the drivers’ drug testing results and make them available at all times for inspection by the Department of Weights and Measures as part of the state licensing process.

“It is critical that Arizonans who patronize taxi and limousine services feel safe and assured the person behind the wheel is drug-free,” Gov. Brewer said in a news release. “This common sense but crucial measure will increase the safety of Arizona public transportation, and may ultimately save lives. I thank the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures for its work and persistence in bringing this bill forward. I am proud to sign it into law.”

Kevin Tyne, Director of the Department of Weights and Measures, is grateful that state officials have finally recognized the need to implement additional safety measures that would protect consumers, particularly senior citizens and people who rely on taxi and livery services.

Workplace drug testing has become common place across the U.S., as well as in other countries. Its benefits include a safer work environment; increased employee morale and productivity; and reduced health care costs, attrition rates, and absenteeism.

There are a number of legitimate reasons why an employer should consider drug testing workers. Whether you’re running a small business or a large enterprise, it’s important that you let your employees know that illegal substances will not be tolerated in your workplace and so are people who report to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This message should be properly communicated to the workforce through the organization’s drug free policy.

But despite the benefits of workplace drug testing, many employers skip or delay implementing such policy because they are uncertain about how far they can go in screening job applicants and existing employees for drug use. This is understandable, though, as there are several federal and state laws that employers must adhere to in order to avoid future legal battles. Some of these laws include the Americans With Disabilities Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act,  the Drug-Free Workplace Act, and the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act.

In addition to getting familiar with a handful of workplace-related laws, an employer is also deemed liable for the conduct of their drug testing service agents, such as the medical review officers, specimen collectors, and laboratories. Hence, some employers would rather hire a lawyer with solid background in corporate drug testing to help them create an effective and flawless drug-free policy.

A well-crafted drug testing policy does not only state what kind of drug tests will be conducted, when the drug test will be conducted or who will be subject to the drug test. It must also comply with federal and state laws governing labor employment and fair workplace practices. This way you prevent the chances of your workplace drug testing policy from becoming a source of liability.

Over 600 drug and alcohol testing professionals gathered in Orlando, FL April 9 – 12 for the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA) 2013 Annual Conference.

The conference featured 65 exhibitors from the drug and alcohol testing industry, as well as educational sessions on various topics related to drug and alcohol testing, including: Certified Professional Collector Trainer Training; Advanced Drug and Alcohol Testing Program Management; Developing an Effective Supervisor Training Program and Alternative Specimen Collection Training.

Many big names in alcohol and drug testing spoke at the conference.

Barry Sample of Quest Diagnostics Inc. gave a 25 year retrospective of the Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index, examining long and short – term drug testing trends based upon insights derived from more than 100 million tests performed by Quest Diagnostics over the past 25 years.

Quest publishes the Drug Testing Index as a public service for government, media and industry and it has been considered a benchmark for national drug trends since 1988.

Doug Mullen of Airlines for America talked about aviation testing outside of the U.S. and the implications of the Federal Aviation Administration’s proposed regulations that will require some repair station employees outside of the U.S. to be drug and alcohol tested.

A three-member panel with Brian Drew of Nationwide Medical Review, Patricio Labatut of Global Partners Ltd. and Kirk Hardy of The International Drug Detection Agency explored how international drug testing programs in Latin America and Oceania are advancing and the issues which they are currently dealing with, as well as a discussion about iDATIA, DATIA’s international drug free workplace program accreditation.

Also on the subject of international drug testing, Bill Current, with WFC and Associates, talked about how drug testing in countries outside the U.S. is exploding and what laws, health codes, privacy regulations, labor agreements, and best practice standards U.S.-based drug testing providers need to know about to cash in on this burgeoning market.

The DATIA 2013 Annual Conference also featured presentations on drugged driving, alcohol testing, marijuana legalization, DNA testing and implementing a student drug testing policy, among others.

Previously, we have shared with you reports about employers getting tough on employees who smoke and the growing dilemma of some businesses when it comes to finding workers that do not use drugs. Even though the U.S. has a lot of laws pertaining to the distribution of tobacco and alcohol, as well as possession and use of illegal drugs, many employers feel that having a drug-free policy in their organization is the most effective way to combat a range of problems, including tardiness and absenteeism, attrition, workplace injuries, and high health care claims.

But how does a company begin in creating a drug-free policy?

As we already know, Colorado and Washington have legalized recreational marijuana use. Will the measure affect how employers in both states should treat marijuana use among employees?

Mike Rich, an Occupational Health and Safety Professional with Safety Services Company, discusses some good points about marijuana legalization and whether or not it could hinder an organization’s goal to have a safe workplace.

“If marijuana were to be legalized, I think it would be treated in the same way as alcohol by most employers, essentially it is ok to drink at home, but don’t show up to work under the influence. However, the greater problem … is determining what level of THC in the blood stream is enough to be considered the influence,” Rich said.

Rich notes that while drug testing and counseling services are vital in promoting a drug-free workplace, there are other effective strategies that an employer can put in place to minimize drug abuse, such as eliminating or reducing factors that could invite drug use.

For employees who are seriously considering a drug-free workplace policy, Rich shared useful tips on what to consider when deciding on the contents of the program, drafting it and implementing the program.

To read the full text of the interview, visit Interview With Mike Rich on Drug Abuse in The Workplace.

An increasing number of job seekers in the U.S. are risking their chances of landing a job because of failed drug tests.

In the latest Drug Testing Index™ (DTI) data released by Quest Diagnostics, positive results for pre-employment urine drug screening in the country’s general workforce rose by 5.7 percent in the first six months of 2012 than in all of 2011. Marijuana continues to be the most commonly detected drug, followed by amphetamines.

“The uptick in U.S. general workforce pre-employment data suggests that employers should be mindful of illicit drug use among prospective employees,” Dr. Barry Sample, Director of Science and Technology for Quest Diagnostics Employer Solutions, said in a news release. “These findings align with recent news reports citing some employers facing increasing drug positives when recruiting new workers.”

In January, The Wall Street Journal cited another Quest Diagnostics report that showed many U.S. employers are facing the challenge of finding potential employees because many are failing their drug tests. The problem was particularly worrisome in parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

But while pre-employment positive rates have increased, positive results for random drug testing were down by 5.8 percent. In the federally mandated, safety-sensitive workforce, positivity rates in pre-employment urine drug screening remained unchanged from 2011 through the first half of 2012.

Positive results for cocaine oral fluid tests had also dropped by 14.6 percent from January to June 2012, compared to 2011.

In an effort to manage the rising costs in employee health care benefits and in part to avoid potential payment of an excise tax in 2018, a growing number of employers are taking aggressive steps to improve delivery, cost management and employee accountability. Not surprisingly, more employers are keeping an eye on workers using tobacco. Either these workers quit their habit or pay more for their health insurance, especially if they don’t participate in a smoking cessation program.

In the latest survey conducted by Towers Watson, companies’ applying surcharges for tobacco users have increased to 42 percent in 2013, from 35 percent in 2012. That figure is expected to reach 62 percent by 2014.

“The endgame is not to penalize tobacco users but to have them quit, so they’re healthier,” Michael Wood, a senior consultant and smoking cessation expert at Towers Watson, told Forbes.

This year, 87 percent of the surveyed employers have tobacco cessation programs; 36 percent of the companies offer reward on tobacco users who participate in a smoking cessation program.

The survey also found that 52 percent of companies today ban smoking directly outside buildings or on campus; 4 percent of the employers have adopted a policy not to hire smokers in states where smoking in the workplace is legal and another 2 percent plan to adopt the same no-hire policy come 2014.

Non-smokers, on the other hand, may still be asked to undergo a nicotine test to prove they don’t smoke before they qualify for a health insurance premium subsidy.

Wood explained that if an employer offers a tobacco cessation program and an employee isn’t subjected to a  financial penalty for being a smoker, as little as 5 percent of tobacco users would consider enrolling in that program in any given year. However, if an employer applies a tobacco-use surcharge on top of a smoking cessation program as a way to avoid the penalty, more tobacco users would be encouraged to take part in the company’s program.

Nearly four months after the arrest of Annie Dookhan, the chemist involved in the Boston crime lab scandal, another chemist was nabbed and is facing charges of drug tampering, according to The Boston Globe.

Sonja Farak, 35, allegedly replaced with counterfeit substances the two samples, believed to be cocaine and heroin, she tested on Jan. 2 and Jan. 8.

Attorney General Martha Coakley told reporters at a conference that Farak’s wrongdoings were discovered when her supervisors were conducting a routine check of certifications and could not locate the two samples she tested. The supervisors went to Farak’s work area and found “certain substances . . . that appeared to be drugs and on further examination appeared to be counterfeit drugs.”

Coakley also noted that Farak’s case is different from Dookhan’s and that officials are still working to find out when Farak’s alleged theft of drugs began.

Farak was arrested on the evening of Jan. 19 and was held on $75,000 bail.

On Jan. 22, the accused chemist was arraigned at the Eastern Hampshire District Court and pleaded not guilty. Farak was released on $5,000 bail and is scheduled to appear on a Feb. 22 hearing.

Employment drug testing may not be the only solution in ending substance abuse in the U.S workforce, but many organizations believe it is vital in reducing problems that could hinder a business from growing and succeeding. Nowadays, employers have several options to consider should they decide to implement or overhaul their workplace drug testing policy, and TestCountry CEO Serhat Pala discusses these options in detail in an exclusive interview with the United States Staffing Association.

“The TestCountry mission is to provide end users with as many options for testing as possible,” Mr. Pala said. “Our goal is to bring cutting edge testing technologies to the end users directly. There are amazing technologies out there for testing pretty much anything you want to. But most of the time that technology is not available to the average end user. At TestCountry we make that happen.”

The CEO shared his insights on the challenges the staffing industry faces and how to effectively deal with those challenges. He also talked about the substances commonly abused by employees, and provided an outline for companies to follow in implementing a comprehensive yet affordable drug testing policy.

“Any company wanting to initiate drug testing should have a policy that addresses it with as much detail as possible,” Mr. Pala noted. “Your policy will then dictate how testing is done. No two companies are going to be the same and therefore there are no screening practices that every company should have in place. We emphasize that drug testing should not be thought of as one thing (urine testing, for example). There are so many options that the best thing to do for any company is to define your drug testing goal and go from there.”

Mr. Pala also mentioned in the interview how important it is for employers to do their research and have a goal in mind when they want to start drug testing employees. Doing so, not only helps employers avoid wasting time and resources but also avoid dealing with legal problems in the event an employee complains.

To read the web content version of the interview, please visit US Staffing Association Podcast Interview with Serhat Pala on Drug Testing

It’s been weeks since recreational marijuana use has been legalized in Washington and Colorado, but until now, many are still asking how the new law will impact drug-free policies in schools and businesses. Although some universities and organizations have already issued statement that they are not going to change anything in their drug testing policy, others continue to consult with their lawyers and await for further announcement from the government.

Still, one important question remains: how do employers in these two states handle the tricky issues associated with the passage of Amendment 64 in Colorado and Initiative 502 in Washington which collide with the federal government’s drug laws?

As often stressed in various references and by the government, marijuana is still a Schedule 1 substance and the Justice Department earlier maintained their “enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged.”

However, if one will review the provisions of Colorado and Washington State’s marijuana legalization measure, there was nothing that specifically address employers’ rights to drug test their employees. Colorado’s Amendment 64 states “Nothing in this section is intended to require an employer to permit or accommodate the use, consumption, possession, transfer, display, transportation, sale or growing of marijuana in the workplace or to affect the ability of employers to have policies restricting the use of marijuana by employees.” Similarly, driving under the influence of marijuana remains prohibited.

In Washington, Costco said “Drug testing is a requirement to be hired. Nothing will change. Marijuana is illegal under federal law.”

The Boeing Company also disclosed similar stand, saying “Use of marijuana by Boeing employees is prohibited regardless of state law.”

As employers need to decide how to approach Washington and Colorado’s new marijuana laws, a legal expert, Michael W. Groebe from Foley & Lardner LLP, with experience representing employers before state and federal courts and administrative agencies offered a sound advice.

“First, employers should continue to focus on the employee’s conduct while at work. If the employee is under the influence or using marijuana at work, the new laws are unlikely to protect them from discipline,” Groebe explained. “Second, employers should remember that marijuana remains prohibited under federal law. Even with Colorado’s “Lifestyle” law that prohibits employers from disciplining employees for engaging in lawful conduct while off-duty, federal law still makes the use of marijuana unlawful.”

Additionally, if an employer requires drug testing, including the policy in the employee handbook and informing job applicants and existing employees could prevent the organization from wasting money on pre-employment drug tests.

North Iowa long-term care providers expressed on Monday at a legislative forum some of their pertinent concerns which include delays in obtaining background checks for new employees and the lack of access to the Elderly Waiver for assisted living residents.

The forum was held at the I.O.O.F Home, sponsored by the Iowa Health Care Association (IHCA) and Iowa Center for Assisted Living (ICAL).

“With the technology we have today, I think it’s kind of ludicrous,” Deb Haugen, administrator of the I.O.O.F. Home, told the globalgazette.com.

Haugen is referring to employee criminal background checks that take several weeks to process which in causing them to lose some competent employees who can’t wait that long to get hired.

Steve Ackerson, executive director of the IHCA and ICAL, explained that the process is slowed down because of the growing number of employers requiring background checks. However, he said the problem could be addressed if by upgrading technology and adding more full-time employee hours at the state level.

Other issues discussed at the forum is about the Elderly Waiver and the high property taxes being paid by residents in assisted living homes.

Rep. Linda Upmeyer (R-Garner) and Rep. Sharon Steckman (D-Mason City) who were present at the forum said they often hear complaints about the background checks and Elderly Waivers. Upmeyer suggested legislators to coordinate with the appropriate state agencies to see if there is a way of addressing the problems effectively.