Pubdate: Mon, 02 Aug 2004 Source: Wisconsin State Journal (WI) Copyright: 2004 Madison Newspapers, Inc. Contact: http://www.wisconsinstatejournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/506 Section: Business, C 8 Author: James Edward Mills, Wisconsin State Journal Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) STIGMA OF DRUGS The Labor Department Is Encouraging Employers To Create Drug-free Workplace Programs, But It's Still An Area That Is Taboo. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor reported recently that 74.6 percent of the nation's 16.6 million adult illicit drug users work either full or part time. As a result, the Labor Department is encouraging employers to establish drug-free workplace programs. According to the Labor Department report, 12.4 million men and women in both blue- and white-collar professions are addicted to drugs. "The prevalence of addiction is about 10 percent," said Dr. Mike Miller, medical director of NewStart, the alcohol and drug treatment program at Madison's Meriter Hospital. "It affects their personal lives long before it impacts their work." But supervisors and human resource managers often are loath to pry into matters of personal behavior that are not directly related to their staff members' job performance. The Labor Department Web site on workplace drug use (www.samhsa.gov) lists potential costs to employers. They include: absenteeism, tardiness, overtime pay, sick leave abuse, health insurance claims, disability payments, and costs associated with accidents. There are also hidden costs: supervisory and managerial time, friction among workers, material waste, equipment damage, poor decisions, damage to public image, costs associated with turnover and premature death. Some employers believe that they can preempt the problem by simply imposing pre-employment drug screening. But an effective drug-free workplace program does not end there, employers and experts say. "We have a system of prevention and treatment," said interim city of Madison human resource director Roger Goodwin. "We have different levels of testing depending on the type of employee." Holders of commercial driver's licenses, including bus drivers and heavy equipment operators, employed by the city receive pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion, and post-accident testing, he said. Police officers and firefighters are subject to all types of testing except random testing. Clerical workers and other city employees are subject to testing only on reasonable suspicion. In Madison, a city employee who tests positive for drugs is not immediately dismissed. On a first offense, the employee is referred to a substance abuse specialist and must complete a prescribed program while on paid leave. That person cannot return to work until they are drug free. This can take as much as a year. If the employee tests positive again during treatment they may then be terminated. If after the treatment program the employee tests positive again, they are referred to treatment, this time without pay, and may be subject to discipline or termination. "Some people try to play Russian roulette and take their chances," Goodwin said. "But once they get into the system, they have to make a decision as to whether or not they're going to continue drug use." Private companies have their own drug policies and programs. Susan Stupica is director of sales and accounts for General Medical Laboratories, a division of Meriter Hospital, which provides drug testing and policy consultation. "We can help (our clients) with regulation, policy creation, and program complications." The laboratory conducts the tests and reports findings. It is then up to the employer to determine a course of action for the employee. "We can assist but we don't mandate," Stupica said. Stupica said drug-free workplace programs can vary with the number, type and frequency of tests performed. However, testing is only part of services that the laboratory provides. "We put a lot of emphasis on education and training," she said. Many companies, particularly small businesses with limited resources, will often restrict their programs to pre-employment drug screening. "A small-business person is supposed to be an expert on so many things," said Erica Kauten, director of the UW-Extension Small Business Development Center. "Human resources is another area they have to deal with. They kind of wait until it's a crisis and then we provide them with counseling. We direct people to where the answers are and they make their own decisions." Treatment specialists like Miller believe they understand why some companies are reluctant to offer drug-free workplace programs. "There's a stigma regarding drug and alcohol use," he said. "People see it as a criminal justice issue, a failure of character, and not a medical problem." This stigma, Miller said, is one reason that prevents workers from acknowledging their addiction and seeking help. If employees do not come forward and workplace drug use is not readily apparent, most employers will assume there is no problem. It usually takes a "glitch in their program in life, problems in their family, problems in their workplace, problems in their health," he said, "before they resolve their ambivalence enough to show up." Need help? For information on creating a drug-free workplace, the Labor Department recommends employers visit the Working Partners Web site at www.dol.gov/dol/workingpartners.htm. If you have story ideas for On The Job, contact James Edward Mills at or 608-252-6158. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin