Overview of Drug Free Workplace Act:
On September 15,1986 President
Ronald Reagan signed Executive Order 12564 establishing the goal of a
Drug-Free Federal Workplace. The Executive Order also required the
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to assist the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM) in developing and improving training programs
on illegal drug use testing for Federal supervisors and managers and to
mount an intensive drug awareness campaign throughout the Federal work
force.
Overview of Governance of Drug Testing
There are three main types of
workplace drug testing programs: DHHS Mandated, DOT Mandated, and
non-mandated. DHHS Mandatory Guidelines mandate the Drug Free
Workplace Programs of Federal government employees. DOT Regulations (CFR
49 Part 40) mandate the testing of safety-sensitive employees of the
different transportation modes (airlines, commercial drivers, marine
captains, etc.). Each individual agency (Federal Aviation
Administration, Federal Transit Administration, etc.) also has its own
regulations regarding the particulars of pre-employment, random,
post-accident, return to duty, and follow-up testing. Non-mandated
testing consists of testing the non safety-sensitive employees and
employees of private businesses. These Drug Free Workplace Programs,
while often modeled after DHHS or DOT programs, need only to abide by
any state laws governing drug and alcohol testing.
Why have a Drug and Alcohol testing program:
Every year drug and alcohol abuse costs American companies and communities billions of dollars in lost wages, medical costs and theft. Did you know that Substance Abusers...
cost employers $23.4 BILLION dollars a year
are 33%-50% less productive
are absent an average of 3 weeks or more per year and are tardy 3x more often
are 3x-4x more likely to have an accident on the job and 5x more likely to file
a Worker's Compensation claim
file 300%-400% more costly medical claims
are responsible for an estimated 50%-80% of all pilferage, theft and loss to employers
