Is powdered alcohol a threat to our children and the drug free workplace? Nah. Tech writer Brent Rose experiments to see if “spiking” someone’s drink with powdered alcohol is something to worry about. Frankly after watching this, it looks about as appealing as drinking pond water.
Video here.
When should you fire an employee for a positive drug test? Companies who perform post employment drug testing have to make tough decisions about what to do with employees who test positive. For companies who have adopted a zero tolerance drug testing policy, the decision isn’t so difficult. Test positive, get fired. Done and done. Whether or not that’s good policy for the company or the employee is questionable and likely dependant on various factors related to that specific business. But what about companies who do not have zero tolerance policies and have text in their drug testing policy like…
“Employees who violate any of the conditions of The Company’s drug-free workplace program are subject to discipline, up to and including termination at The Company’s sole discretion. The degree of action chosen will depend on the circumstances of each case and will be considered within the parameters of all applicable state and federal laws.”
Their policy clearly allows for the possibility of termination at their “sole discretion” and the degree of action can “depend of the circumstances of each case”.
Let’s start with the basics.
Prevention: The best way to deal with a positive drug test is not to have employees who test positive in the first place. Wouldn’t it be easier to prevent 3 of out 5 positive tests from occurring rather than deal with 5 out of 5 positive tests? Unless you like making difficult decisions that can have significant effect on employees income, family life and future job prospects you should have practices in place to help deter drug use. We won’t cover these in detail here but here’s a quick check list:
The drug policy: If your organization doesn’t have a written drug policy, then not only should you not fire an individual for a positive drug test, you shouldn’t even be drug testing at all. That’s assuming you have better things to do than hang out in courthouses defending your company in a court of law. If you do have a drug testing policy you should also keep proof your employees have received a copy. A signed document acknowledging receipt is recommended.
Federal and State Law: Laws change all the time. On any given day there can be dozens of states with pending legislation related to drug and alcohol use. Keeping tabs with state laws your organization does business in should be a regular recurring practice. In general, if your organization already has your drug testing policy reviewed by an industry expert or legal counsel and it contains language similar to above, then your likely safe with a decision to terminate if it makes sense…however…
Consistent application: …you need to ensure that a decision to terminate is not discriminatory. Your decisions about discipline or termination need to made independent of an employees gender, race, disabilities and/or sexual preferences. Adding a section to your drug policy providing examples or prohibited behavior and their consequences can help prevent real or unconscious/unintended bias. For example, if an employee is caught with illegal drugs on their person, the consequence cannot be demotion for one employee and termination for another.
Verified test result?: Did the final test result come from a certified medical review officer (MRO)? If not, you should think twice about even disciplining your employee. An instant drug test positive (cup or strip with visual indicators read by the collector) or even a laboratory positive result should not be considered true results. Neither of these provided the employee a chance to prove they might have a valid prescription or some other valid alternate explanation which may have caused the positive.
O.k., so you’ve determined you have a written and distributed drug testing policy and you’re within state and federal law and you have an actual positive test. Now what?
Incident analysis: Considering the incident
There’s certainly a lot to consider but whatever you do be sure to remain unbiased and make decisions within state and federal law. If you have legal counsel, you should seek their feedback.
– AtHandTraining provides awesome web-based drug free workplace training for employees and supervisors.
The use of the psychostimulant amphetamine Adderall is again on the rise. Due to its ability to increase attention and concentration it has become the drug of choice among the college crowd and those looking to gain a competitive edge in sports, the classroom, and in the workplace. In fact, the demand for Adderall became so dramatic in 2012 that the federal government had to act to combat shortages of the drug.
It stands to reason that use of Adderall in the university would carry over into the workplace as students graduate and find themselves in yet another competitive environment. Quest Diagnostics, the nation’s largest toxicology laboratory reported in their 2014 Drug Testing Index Report that for the first time in 10 years the positivity rate for workplace drug testing increased and attributed it to “a rise in marijuana and amphetamines (use)” and things look to be getting worse. The proliferation of the drug can be reliably tracked by simply looking at the amount produced each year. Since the drug is classified as a schedule II drug, yearly production is controlled by the DEA. In 1990, 417 kg of amphetamine was produced; in 2012 the number was 25,300 kg. The number is doubling every few years.
Safety risks and other problems of use in the workplace
If Adderall helps performance and concentration, what’s the big deal? Here’s a few reasons…
Employee health:
Productivity and Safety: Any short-term increases on concentration and productivity are simply outweighed by the potential negative effects on the employees physical and mental health. Even with the perceived good intentions, Adderall abusers, especially those performing safety sensitive duties pose a significant risk to their selves, their co-workers and possibly the public. In addition, long-term users will find that the benefits they thought they were receiving from use disappear as they become sleep deprived, overworked, exhausted and unfocused. As with other stimulants, users may develop a need to take larger doses over time to receive the same effect further worsening their problem.
Adderall in the workplace
Since the drug is available by valid prescription it is possible that employees will have a legitimate prescription for Adderall. However because the drug is so easy to come by it is very likely that many employees would be abusing the drug without prescription. The difference in dealing with employee with a prescription and an employee without prescription is beyond the scope of this post, however any supervisor with the authority to make a reasonable suspicion determination should review their workplace drug policy, and have a good understanding of state and federal law as it relates to prescription drug use. There’s a good article written in OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) .
Companies with employees performing safety sensitive duties such as driving a DOT regulated vehicle, flying a plane, driving a bus, working with hazardous materials, etc. need to be extra vigilant in their efforts to ensure employees exhibiting signs and symptoms of use or abuse are interviewed and possibly drug tested when necessary.
Signs and Symptoms
When looking for signs and symptoms of Adderall abuse supervisors should be looking for ‘deviations from the norm’ in the employees typical behavior, attitudes and physical characteristics. For example, if an employee is exhibiting an elevated level of alertness and excitement but has always historically exhibited those characteristics then those particular signs and symptoms would be a weak indicator of use. You looking for signs that would be abnormal for that individual.
Stimulation:
Alertness | Highly Energetic | Abnormal Level of Confidence | Reduced Apeitite | Raised Pulse | Rapid Breathing | Over Excitement | Dry Mouth | Pupil Dilation | Abnormally Talkative | Sweating | Restlessness | Irritability | Anxiety | Aggression | Coordination Difficulty | Headaches
Withdrawal:
Physical Exhaustion | Depressed Mood | Sleepiness | Mood Swings | Over Sleeping | Depression | Anxiety | Irritability
Addiction:
Paranoia | Delusions | Hallucinations | Severe Anxiety | Poor Judgement | Depression | Suicidal Thoughts | Exhaustion | Weight Loss | Malnutrition
AtHandTraining.com provides online training for DOT supervisor training, DOT employee drug awareness training, and drug free workplace drug and alcohol awareness training.