b'The Work Free Drug Place The number one response was drugs. The same surveytrips to emergency rooms and other expenses that we also showed that employees have an increasing intoleranceand employers will have to bear, says Vanessa Scherzer, a for drug abuse and expect employers to take strong stepsTrigon spokesperson. to provide drug-free workplaces. Most American workersChamberlain Contractors Inc., a paving contractor in dont abuse alcohol or use drugs and they are not willing toLaurel, Md. with 60 employees, implemented a drug-free risk working with employees who do. workplace program out of necessity. Owner Harold Green Im not saying every employer needs to have a full- watched his insurance premiums soar after a series of blown education, counseling, testing, and rehabilitationdrug- and alcohol-related accidents, including a two truck program. If you cant or wont do anything else, at leastcollisionboth of them his.start including Ours is a drug-free workplace, in all yourIn 1987, he began instituting a zero-tolerance substance recruitment advertising. abuse program that included drug testing, education, an After Service Merchandise hung signs outsideemployee assistance program, and safety incentives that each locations employment office that read: Servicepaid employees cash bonuses during the Christmas party. Merchandise tests ALL job applicants for illegal drug use,After installing the program, the cost of the companys Charles Krivcher, Director of Safety for the company said,insurance for general liability, workers compensation and Weve seen applicants read the sign and turn around andauto insurance fell from $252,000 in 1987 to $121,000 in leave. 1991.I also recommend that every employer write a testingMr. Green estimates the annual cost of the program at for cause policy and use it. Like the Service Merchandiseapproximately $15,000 a year. Its a fraction of what we get signs, simply having a policy in place reduces theback in hard dollars, he says, not to mention the softer likelihood of abuse. But, if you dont have a policy, youbenefits of higher productivity, better motivation, and cannot protect yourself by testing after an accident orlower absenteeism.when there is reasonable suspicion of substance abuse.Mr. Green says that most small businesses are too (The U.S. Department of Labor website on substance abuseshort-term oriented to realize the benefits of a substance has suggestion on setting up an abuse policy.) abuse program. But there is a huge risk of allowing drug If you want to start testing, be aware that there areand alcohol abuse to continue. You are one accidentor substantial employee rights at issue, including privacy,one employeeaway from being out of business, says confidentiality, the need for accuracy in testing, and theGreen.need for a company policy that is fairly and consistentlyElectronics supplier Amfac employs about 150 people enforced.in Kent, Washington and, according to Will Bentley, Most employers use two-step testing to ensurean Amfac executive, After the announcement of the accuracy. In one type of two-step procedure, the urineimplementation of drug testing, job applicant positives sample is divided. If the first, less expensive, but normallybecause virtually non-existent.accurate, test is positive, a second, 100 percent accurate,At W. W. Gay, a mechanical contractor with 800 test is conducted. employees, positives went down from 17% to 3% and There are restrictions in a dozen or so states andpresident Gay said Weve gotten back $19 for every dollar cities about and who can be tested when, but employersspent. This includes the decrease in workers comp bills generally have a right to establish a policy that requiresand savings in medical costs on denied benefits for failure employees to be drug-free and to implement drug testing. in post-accident testing. He adds, With the number of Drug testing works. Some users dont even apply, somelarge companies that are drug testing, if you dont have a stop using for fear of being caught, and some are caughtdrug-free workplace policy, all you have is a work-free drug and go straight. place.While small businesses have been slower to adoptCertified Speaking Professional Mel Kleiman is an internationally testing programs, many have found ways to realizerecognized consultant, author and speaker/trainer on strate-benefits. Approximately 100 small businesses ingies for finding and keeping the best hourly employees. He is the Richmond, Va. receive free drug testing for their employeespresident of Humetrics, a leading developer of systems, training as part of the group health insurance they buy fromprocesses, and tools for recruiting, selecting and retaining the best Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield. We know that preventinghourly workforce. Kleiman is the author of five books, including the substance abuse on the front-end is going to prevent costlybest-selling Hire Tough, Manage Easy. For more information, visit www.humetrics.com or call (713) 771-4401.www.mrca.orgMidwest Roofer 13'