Some people try to cheat drug tests. Not most people. Then again, most people don't need to! But many who are worried about it work very hard to game the system. Nearly 10% of all full-time workers in the U.S. are illicit drug users. Yet only 3.8% of pre-employment urine drug tests are positive. Why? [...]
[sonaar_audioplayer albums="91070"][/sonaar_audioplayer] Would you rather build a fence at the top of a cliff, or park an ambulance at the bottom? That’s why we wear seat belts. It’s why we cook our chicken thoroughly. It’s why we watch our blood pressure and cholesterol. And it’s why we create safe workplaces. We want to prevent tragic [...]
Occasionally, our clients ask if a positive drug test results in trouble with the law. No, we don’t call the police, but that doesn’t mean all is well. Sometimes an individual tests positive for cocaine or some other illegal drug. Are we obligated to turn the person in? Thankfully, no. We’re not trained in law [...]
In 1988, 13.6% of all workplace drug tests were positive. 1988 is when the Federal Drug-free Workplace Act went into effect, followed by the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 three years later. Deterrence makes a difference. Quest Diagnostics' 2013 Drug Testing Index has tracked drug testing statistics for 20 years now. The study separates statistics [...]
No one likes workers comp claims. Not the employer. Not the insurance company. And certainly not the person who got hurt. In addition to the cost of the claim itself, employers must hire and train a replacement and deal with the lost productivity and associated business disruption. Chris Bassler, of Bassler & Co., a Northbrook-based [...]
Well, it wasn’t actually a bar. But it WAS a guy. And he DID walk in. Two weeks ago, a man came into our clinic and asked if he could pay for his own drug test. Why, you may ask, would someone do that? Is the math that baffling? […]
Last week I went into stealth mode and called some local “competitors,” pretending to be looking for information about drug testing programs. It was more “enlightening” than I had imagined! I was told by two occupational health clinics that claim to do DOT and non-DOT drug and alcohol testing, that it is perfectly acceptable to [...]
The folks at Penn State learned the hard way that ignoring a known or suspected problem won't make it go away. In fact, if you ignore a known problem, by default, you condone it. Would you save a drowning person if he/she were within arm's length? Or would you turn away thinking, "It's none of [...]
Is your company compliant? Many companies,–mandated by DOT to have drug and alcohol testing programs–are not. Non-compliance can cost you. But safety is the goal. In May 2012, FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) officials charged 128 companies with violations of the DOT FMCSA regulations for drug and alcohol testing, removing 287 unsafe bus and [...]
