Employers have taken steps to guarantee employees, vendors, and customers are not taking or using alcohol or drugs, selling drugs, or affected by the after effects of indulging in alcohol or drugs outside of the workplace during non-work time. They also encourage employees with substance abuse problems to seek treatment, recover, and return to work.
The notion of a drug-free workplace started when Ronald Reagan signed into law Executive Order 12564, it banned the use of drugs both on and off duty for federal employees. This resulted in the Drug-free Workplace Act of 1988. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Drug-Free Workplace Programs, many employers are undertaking the drug-free policy today.
Interested in the effects of alcohol and drug use in your workplace?
-health and safety of all of your employees are compromised
-an employee who may be working under the influence of alcohol or drugs could injure himself or another employee
-medical and insurance costs for your business.
-the productivity of a worker who is impaired at work may be incompatibly impacted.
-products are easily accessible or taken, substance abusers may be responsible for a large quantity of the product loss.
Concerned about the disadvantages to a Drug-Free Workplace?
-unplanned drug testing can be intrusive and lack of employer trust.
-non-substance abusers are subjected to maltreatment due to the actions of other coworkers
-employees may feel their privacy is being invaded and that what they do outside of work is not their employer’s business
-failing a drug test does not mean the employee was impaired at work, but they used a substance within the time parameters that the test was taken and could have had no impact on their conduct at all.
-employees worry that the use of drugs or alcohol while not at work may bring the same consequences to an employee as if they were at work
People who are against a drug-free workplace believe that while there are Federal regulations for drug testing, there are hundreds of state and local jurisdictions that do not manage or oversee the methods employers use for drug testing.
Therefore, if you decide to initiate unplanned drug testing as a part of your drug-free workplace program, make sure employees are treated with dignity and respect, and honor their secrecy.
The drug testing policy should condition the type of drug testing method used, how often of the drug testing will be implemented, and the names of the substances for which the employee will be tested. The drug testing policy should provide legitimate and conformable strategies to maintain a drug-free workplace.