Pubdate: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 Source: Savannah Morning News (GA) Copyright: 2001 Savannah Morning News Contact: P.O. Box 1088, Savannah, Ga., 31402 Fax: (912) 234-6522 Website: http://www.savannahnow.com/ Forum: http://chat.savannahnow.com:90/eshare/ Author: Shannon Lynch Web posted Saturday, January 27, 2001 PASS OR FAIL? Businesses increasingly require urine samples for employment By Shannon Lynch Savannah Morning News The days of just sending out a resume, having an interview and starting a new job are fading. For many, there's another requirement: passing a drug test. These days, you'll likely face one if you apply for work, especially at a big company or a government agency. For example, about 4,800 Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. employees had to pass pre-employment drug tests. So did 400 Savannah Morning News employees. Many employers test workers randomly and after workplace accidents. They also test after worker behavior triggers suspicion that they're using illegal substances. It's all part of a national trend that has drawn complaints about invasion of privacy, a concern that most employers think is trumped by the promise of safer, more productive workplaces. The trend dates to 1986, when President Ronald Reagan ordered federal agencies to urine test employees. Since then, more and more private and public institutions have used some form of drug testing. Last year, more than 60 percent of major American companies did so, the American Management Society reported. Widespread testing has been a boon to companies such as Health Awareness Enterprises, which collects specimens for drug testing. The Garden City firm has seen its business grow exponentially in the last 10 years, manager Jim Connett said. Though the lab is doing more testing, fewer tests are coming back positive, he said. How they do it Most companies use urinalysis, but use of hair samples is increasing, Connett said. While some businesses, such as Kennickell Print and Communications, test employees on-site, most send workers to companies such as Health Awareness Enterprises to have urine, hair or blood collected and tested. Tests typically target marijuana, PCP, amphetamines, opiates and cocaine, said Dr. Robert Balsley, who has practiced occupational medicine for the past 15 years. Some employers, such as Memorial Health University Medical Center, also require applicants to consent to testing for barbiturates, methadone, methaqualone, benzodiazepines, propoxyphene and phencyclidine. Although it's more expensive, testing hair rather than urine can detect illegal substances much longer after they're used. That's one reason why every applicant at the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort must pass a hair test for amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine and marijuana, said Eric Witcher, human resources director. "If you do cocaine Friday, by Monday it has leached out of your system, and there is no residue" in urine, Witcher said. "However, it's still recorded in your hair. It's kind of like rings on a tree. There's more opportunity to see what a person's trend of living is like." Employer curiosity about a person's "trend of living" worries some workers and groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union. And other problems with testing hair make urinalysis a safer bet, Balsley said. Examples: Cocaine shows up in higher concentrations in female than in male hair and darker hair than in light hair. And, of course, someone with no hair can't be tested. Also, people with long hair who test positive and complete treatment programs still could fail two months later even if they're clean. That's not fair, Balsley said. "It's a lawsuit waiting to happen," he said. "It's just not as clean as doing urinalysis." Drugs Don't Work Though productivity and safety are the main reasons employers say they drug test workers, Georgia offers another powerful incentive: money. Eight years ago, Georgia began a program called Drugs Don't Work. Companies that participate get a 7.5 percent discount on their workers' compensation insurance premiums. To get a workers' compensation insurance discount, a business must: * Have a substance abuse policy. * Conduct drug tests. * Complete two hours of employee education each year. * Complete two hours of supervisor training a year. * Have an employee assistance program for drug problems or maintain a list of counseling centers workers can use. In Savannah, only 72 of 2,000 businesses that belong to the Chamber of Commerce participate in the program. Statewide, 3,333 companies are certified, according to the Department of Labor. Many other companies may drug test without meeting state requirements to get an insurance reduction. "As more companies find out about the reduction in their liability rates for becoming a drug-free workplace, it's a good motivation to participate," Connett said. Drug testing must be done before a person is hired, after accidents, on reasonable suspicion and post-treatment if applicable. Random drug testing isn't required, but many participating companies do it anyway. But is the program ethical? "It's a strange thing to me, insurance companies imposing a policy by offering a discount," said Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the Atlanta ACLU. "It's certainly questionable whether drug testing would reduce workplace accidents. There are better ways to test whether someone can operate safely." Chuck Wade, who runs the Drugs Don't Work program through the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, doesn't think businesses should drug test employees just to get the insurance discount. He says they should do it to stop this country from going the way of the Roman Empire -- destruction from within. "But if you will not do it for love of country, please do it to save money," Wade urged business owners at a recent chamber meeting in Savannah. Studies show that 77 percent of drug users are employed, Wade said, and denying them jobs is the best way to attack the drug problem. Drug testing also increases productivity, slashes medical costs by 300 percent, boosts morale, and curbs theft, tardiness and absenteeism, Wade said. Al Kennickell, who owns Kennickell Print and Communications, also told chamber members how testing his 100 employees has helped his business. The workers' compensation discount saves him money on insurance premiums, he said, and drug-free workers are better workers. "We learned the hard way that if people have a drug problem, they also typically have a cash problem," Kennickell said. "People will steal from you, arrange to work overtime and even create work to work overtime. It drives everything they do." The cost of testing But the ACLU argues that the costs of drug testing are too high. In its 1999 report "Drug Testing: A Bad Investment," the ACLU challenges studies that claim drug users costs businesses billions of dollars. It actually costs a company $77,000 to find one drug user, the ACLU reported, and someone who uses drugs moderately on his own time is no less productive than someone who drinks alcohol moderately after work. Area employers who drug test say the cost of drug testing is worth it. The actual test usually costs $20 to $40. "We think it pays for itself in the long run, with our safety record and insurance premiums," Westin's Witcher said. "We only had one time where we lost time for an accident last year, and it was only a couple of days." The Westin spends $35 each to test its 250 or so applicants a year, he said, at a cost of nearly $9,000. Ray Gaster, owner of Gaster Lumber and Hardware, said he spends about $1,500 a year to test 90 employees. But that saves him almost $4,000 because of the workers' compensation discount. He thinks drug-free workers are more productive. "Drug testing is a must for any business person," Gaster said. "Some people tell me if they drug test they won't get any employees. I say, 'OK, if you want a bunch of potheads working for you, that's what you're going to get.' " No definitive studies have weighed the cost of drug testing against improved productivity, said Leslie Hough, executive director of the W.J. Usery Center for the Workplace at Georgia State University, which studies workplace issues. But many managers who notice a dropoff in productivity are quick to point to drug use as the cause, Hough said. "There are strong advocates of drug testing who posit it's worth it whatever it costs, but I'm not aware of statistical information either way for that conclusion," Hough said. "I think generally drug testing is almost an ideological issue, with widely divergent attitudes toward it." (con't) - --- MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer