According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, more than 75 percent of substance abusers are employed. This prevalence of substance abusers in the workplace presents many risks to employers. In addition to safety, legal and regulatory risks, employee substance abuse can decrease productivity and, according to the U.S. Department of Health and […]
The 2012 elections placed a number of marijuana initiatives before state voters around the United States, ranging from efforts to legalize the sale and use of marijuana for recreational purposes to further expansion of the “medical marijuana” laws that currently exist in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Voters in Colorado and Washington passed […]
According to the 2011 HireRight Employment Screening Benchmarking Report, 65 percent of respondents conduct pre-employment drug testing. While these employers are taking helpful steps towards creating a safer and more productive workplace, many may have made some common missteps in the development and management of their drug testing program. An inadequate drug testing program could […]
When an organization addresses medical marijuana in its drug-free workplace policy, it must carefully consider both state and federal regulations. However, regulations vary widely from state to state and often state regulations directly contradict federal law which makes addressing medical marijuana in a drug-free workplace policy complex. Additionally, employers that have workers in multiple states […]
According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 66 percent of substance abusers aged 18 and over are employed. With this knowledge at hand, one would assume that a vast majority of employers use employee drug screening. Surprisingly, more than 40 percent of employers do not conduct pre-employment drug testing, and 64 […]
Although employment screening in the health care industry is highly regulated, drug and alcohol testing is often not required by law. Drug and alcohol screening is vital because an individual with patient contact that abuses drugs or alcohol may put employee and patient safety at risk and increase the frequency of negligence or malpractice claims. […]
