Workplace Testing

It has been commonly reported that drinking on the job and hangovers cost industry billions of dollars in absenteeism and worker productivity. We have also been told that an alcohol testing programs can be economically justified because it saves lives, saves in insurance claims, reduces liability and can identify and aid in the rehabilitation of trained employees. However, the real reason a company should choose to incorporate an alcohol testing program is because they understand that alcohol abuse in the workplace exists and is a danger to the user, their fellow workers and the general welfare of the company.

Numerous industrial accidents caused by alcohol abuse have gained wide notoriety. Death, injury or damage to the environment have been the outcome of these events and have caused irreparable damage to the companies where these individuals worked. Although these cases are extreme, they are not anomalies and they point out the risk a company takes by not addressing the issue.

If you have decided that your company should have an alcohol testing program there are a number of steps to take before you will run your first test. The following are some questions that should be answered so that the testing program and policy is consistent with your particular corporate goals.

The most basic questions are:

• Why do you want to institute a program ?
• What is the objective of the program? Is it to:

1. Identify and rehabilitate employees?
2. Raise the awareness of a problem?
3. Identify users and dismiss them from your companies employment?

• Are you testing because your industry is regulated and it is required?

In the United States, the Department of Transportation and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission each have their own set of rules and regulations for testing an employee for alcohol use. For companies that have employees that fall under these guidelines, the testing rules and procedures have been established for them.

• If your company is not regulated what does this mean?

1. Around the world where companies are not mandated to perform alcohol tests by a regulatory authority, non-regulated testing can occur if both the local law and agreements with the trade unions allow for it.
2. There are many examples of these types of programs. Most model their programs off of an existing program to save in development costs. However, a company must be careful to choose a model that has the same objectives as the goals for their company.
3. In the US, many states have guidelines for setting up non-regulated programs.
4. In the UK drug testing guidelines have recently been published with future consideration for guidelines on alcohol testing. The rest of the EU appears to be close behind in an effort to do the same. For companies in the UK the existing drug rules should be reviewed. It is likely that they will provide some insight into how the alcohol guidelines will be developed

Once you have a clear picture as to what the goal of you program is, you may want to look at an existing program to get a sense of the issues that you will be faced with when setting up a program of your own.

A. Testing or retesting for the presence of drugs or alcohol by an employer shall be carried out within the terms of a written policy that has been distributed to every employee subject to testing or that has been made available to employees in the same manner as the employer informs its employees of other personnel practices, including inclusion in a personnel handbook or manual or posting in a place accessible to employees. The employer shall inform prospective employees that they must undergo drug testing. The written policy shall include at least the following:

1.  A statement of the employer's policy respecting drug and alcohol use by employees.
2. A description of those employees or prospective employees who are subject to testing.
3. The circumstances under which testing may be required.
4. The substances as to which testing may be required.
5. A description of the testing methods and collection procedures to be used.
6. The consequences of a refusal to participate in the testing.
7. Any adverse personnel action that may be taken based on the testing procedure or results.
8. The right of an employee, on request, to obtain the written test results.
9. The right of an employee, on request, to explain in a confidential setting, a positive test result.
10. A statement of the employer's policy regarding the confidentiality of the test results.

B. Within the terms of the written policy, an employer may require the collection and testing of samples for any job-related purposes consistent with business necessity including:

1. Investigation of possible individual employee impairment.
2. Investigation of accidents in the workplace. Employees may be required to undergo drug testing or alcohol impairment testing for accidents if the test is taken as soon as practicable after an accident and the test is administered to employees who the employer reasonably believes may have contributed to the accident.
3. Maintenance of safety for employees, customers, clients or the public at large.
4. Maintenance of productivity, quality of products or services or security of property or information.
5. Reasonable suspicion that an employee may be affected by the use of drugs or alcohol and that the use may adversely affect the job performance or the work environment.

 

C. In addition to the provisions of subsection B, employees or groups of employees may be required to undergo drug testing on a random or chance basis.

D. If an employer institutes a policy of drug testing or alcohol impairment testing under this article, all compensated employees including officers, directors and supervisors shall be uniformly included in the testing policy.

Intoximeters Inc. has currently has over 25,000 breath alcohol testing instruments being used for workplace testing around the world, Intoximeters has a demonstrated record of delivering the highest quality products, training and on going support for industrial testing programs.

Our users include major airlines, railway companies, public transit companies, oil companies, mining companies, shipping companies, container carriers, oil tankers, passenger cruise ship operators and regulating authorities such as the US Coast Guard. In addition, Intoximeters instruments are the choice of several of the largest laboratories in the world (for use in their patient service centers) and has instrumentation in over 18,000 independent and networked, occupational health clinic facilities that contract to perform drug and alcohol collection services in the United States.

Intoximeters is committed to maintain its leadership position in the workplace market and continues to develop the most accurate breath analyzers along with software solutions which meet current market needs.

More Info about Intoximeters Products

Back to About Alcohol Testing