Tracknum: 9038.000d01cfe7aa.05d4c340.117e49c0.
Pubdate: Mon, 13 Oct 2014
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: Arian Campo-Flores
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

DRUG USE AT WORK ROILS FIRMS

While Overall Rates Have Declined, Use of Heroin and Other Opioids Has Surged

When Mark Jurman started as plant manager at a piston factory in
Marinette, Wis., two years ago, he quickly realized how deeply the
area's heroin and pain-pill problem was afflicting his workforce.

He sometimes discovered empty plastic bags at the factory stamped with
the caricatures typical of heroin envelopes.

Employees confided to him that some of their peers were high during
work hours.

Dealers hung around the plant's parking lot, selling drugs to
employees during shift changes. "Our parking lot was seen as one of
the best places in town to buy drugs," said Mr. Jurman, who oversees
nearly 1,000 employees at KS Kolbenschmidt US Inc. In areas across the
country ravaged by soaring use of opioid drugs such as heroin and
prescription painkillers, many employers are grappling with the
effects on the labor force, from lower productivity to higher turnover.

The problems have taken a financial toll on companies and threaten to
crimp local economic growth.

In Allen County, Ohio, some employers have had difficulty filling open
positions because up to 70% of applicants are failing drug tests, said
Jed Metzger, president of the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce.
In the greater Cincinnati area, covering parts of Kentucky, Ohio and
Indiana, employees involved in a range of incidents--from damaging
property with forklifts and other heavy equipment to crashing company
vehicles--have tested positive for opioids, said Tina LeGris, director
of business health services at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, which
provides health services to employers in the region.

The drugs, which are powerful and cause impairment, have contributed
to higher accident rates, theft and absenteeism at some companies,
hurting their productivity, said Trey Grayson, president of the
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. He said the problem also has
affected the performance of employees who are drug-free but distraught
over family members battling addiction. "All of these things bring
real cost to employers," he said. While the overall rate of U.S.
workers who tested positive for drugs declined 18% between 2003 and
2013, it rose for certain opioids, according to Quest
Diagnostics, which analyzed the results of drug tests it conducted for
employers, including 8.5 million of them last year. During the same
period, the rate of positive tests nearly tripled for hydromorphone,
commonly known as Dilaudid, and nearly doubled for hydrocodone, sold
under brand names such as Vicodin. Heroin data is available only for
recent years and shows an 82% increase in the positivity rate between
2010 and 2013.

The number of people who use pain relievers for nonmedical reasons is
second only to marijuana users, according to the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration. A 2011 Justice Department
study found that the economic cost of drug abuse generally in the U.S.
was $193 billion, mainly due to lost productivity. Other studies have
tied opioid use to increases in workers' compensation costs, work time
lost and durations of worker disability.

To beat back the epidemic, many businesses are expanding worker drug
testing, introducing zero-tolerance policies and setting up
employee-assistance programs to help those seeking treatment for
addiction. Chambers of commerce are trying to provide guidance to
companies, especially small ones without human-resources departments
that are struggling to get a handle on the problem.

The Marinette Menominee Area Chamber of Commerce, which represents
employers including KS Kolbenschmidt, began convening local companies,
law enforcement and other groups last year to develop a more
comprehensive approach. Combating the drug problem is seen as crucial,
given that numerous local manufacturers have been adding jobs at a
brisk pace. ChemDesign, a chemical maker in Marinette with 120
employees, has taken several steps.

Among them: bringing in law enforcement to train supervisors to look
for signs of drug use. Spotting residue in paraphernalia used to stash
drugs, such as gum wrappers and soda bottles, are among the
indicators, said Brian Bourgeois, human-resources and
employee-development manager. Along with two other local employers,
the company recently started a pilot program to educate area workers
on issues such as the perils of opioids and dealing with a child
showing signs of addiction.

The business community hopes that by banding together, it will make
clear to workers that they cannot simply jump from company to company
after failing drug tests. "The goal is not to force them out of work,"
Mr. Bourgeois said. "The goal is to get them help, rehabilitate them
and get them back into the workplace."

Meanwhile, in the time since Mr. Jurman started at KS Kolbenschmidt,
the company introduced random drug screening of employees, invited
police to raid the parking lot and contributed money to their canine
unit, which conducts on-site inspections. It also created a program to
help workers get counseling and rehabilitation.

Mr. Jurman said the efforts are having an effect, though the issue
remains. The company may terminate an employee who tests positive, but
it doesn't report the drug use to law enforcement, he said. "Our
policy is, if you self-declare before you get caught, you can get
help," he said. "If you don't self-declare and you get caught, then
that's a different story."