Pubdate: Mon, 24 Jan 2005 Source: Asbury Park Press (NJ) Copyright: 2005 Asbury Park Press Contact: http://www.app.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/26 Author: David P. Willis, Business Writer UNDER EXAMINATION Drug Screenings Help Employers Avoid Hiring People With Substance-Abuse Problems, a Situation That Otherwise Could ADD Up to A Loss of Productivity and Higher Costs for the Company. To get a new job these days, it's likely that your next prospective employer will ask you for a urine sample or even some hair. Drug tests are becoming prevalent these days. "Everyone wants to have a safe workplace," said Landa Poianidarocki, manager at Meridian Occupational Health in Neptune. "Employers invest a lot in their employees. If the individual has a substance abuse problem, it will impact on their ability to perform." Drug users can hurt a company's bottom line. Such workers cost employers $75 billion to $100 billion annually nationwide in lost time, accidents, workers' compensation and health care costs, according to U.S. Labor Department estimates. They also cause 65 percent of all workplace accidents. And drug users use 16 times as many health-care benefits and are six times more likely to file worker's compensation claims than workers who do not use drugs. About 60 percent of companies nationally test new hires for drugs, according to the American Management Association. More companies have inserted such tests into their hiring process and have added more drugs, such as Ecstasy, to their testing palette, said Paul Mladineo, vice president of strategic development for Sterling Testing Systems, a New York City-based employment-testing company. Other drugs that are tested for include marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines. A test has been required for full-time employment at Wegmans Food Markets Inc. for years. "As an employer, we are commited to a drug-free workplace for our employees and our customers," said Ruth Ann Virgil, human resources manager for New Jersey. Last September, the company began to require hair tests, rather than urine samples. New employees go to a health-care facility for the hair sample, which consists of snipping a small amount of hair. The hair is liquefied and tested. "Over the years, there have been ways developed that people can change the results of urine tests," Virgil said. "With the hair tests, that is not able to be done." These hair tests and a saliva test, which federal agencies are thinking about adopting, aren't as invasive as urine screenings and are better able to foil workers' attempts to cheat the system. "A worker can no longer claim that they got lost or couldn't find the lab," Mladineo said. "Especially if they need more time to clear something out." Poianidarocki has heard of people trying to fake a urine test. "We did find that someone tried to carry a specimen and left the container behind," she said. "There are individuals that may try to try something." In another case, someone sent another person in to take his test, she said. But procedures and technology make it difficult. For instance, photo identification is required to confirm an identity, Poianidarocki said. The tests are also temperature sensitive. "People will try to bring other urine with them and pour that into the cup," said Tracy Merrill, social worker and coordinator of the employee assistance program at CPC Behavioral Healthcare in Middletown. "Even if you have it taped to your leg, it is not going to be the same temperature." Testers also can determine whether a sample has been tainted. "I think the technology and the procedures are out there that will help an employer not get caught by hiring someone" with a substance-abuse problem, Poianidarocki said. Drug use by an employee can affect everyone around them. "When the person is calling out sick, somebody else has to pick up the slack," said Mary Anne Ruane, manager of outpatient mental health and substance abuse services at Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank. "Other fellow employees may need to cover up for someone who is slacking off, whether they are coming in late from lunch or coming in late in the morning." - --- MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPFFLorida)