If you’ve seen the news lately, you know why it’s more important than ever for businesses to implement thorough, professional, random drug testing programs. An epidemic of opioid addiction has swept the nation, putting employers at risk of huge lawsuits and costly worker’s comp claims if and when accidents happen on the job. Just one such lawsuit is more than capable of putting a company out of business! Quality random drug testing is the best defense against legal liability associated with drug abuse in the workplace. It’s also an employers’ best hope of helping employees struggling with drug usage to face and conquer their demons.
That doesn’t mean instituting your own random drug testing program is a good idea, however. Not too long ago, SouthernPacific was forced to pay a former employee nearly half a million dollars after they fired her for refusing to participate in a random drug test. The jury found that the company did not follow the law as they should have. That was one employee—imagine what more than one could cost your business!
An effective random drug and alcohol testing program run by experienced professionals can help maintain compliance with applicable regulations and mitigate liability and safety risks. Compared to pre-employment drug testing, random drug testing can be more effective at detecting and deterring drug use because employees have no advance notice and do not know when the drug testing will occur. Random drug and alcohol testing programs are a critical part of a drug-free workplace policy because they can help to ensure that workers continue to uphold the drug-free standards of the work environment throughout their employment.
Whether your organization maintains a drug-free workplace policy or is required to conduct random drug and alcohol testing by a regulatory agency such as the FAA or Department of Transportation (DOT), it is important to administer the random drug and alcohol testing process properly. A random drug and alcohol testing policy is ineffective if it does not meet best practices and achieve compliance with regulatory standards.That’s where KRESS comes in. Our team of experts always handles random drug testing in a proper, fully compliant fashion so that you’ll never have to worry about it.
What follows are nine recommended best practices that employers should consider when implementing a random program. If you have a question or aren’t sure your random drug testing program meets your needs, don’t hesitate to contact us today to set up and streamline a random drug testing program at your company.
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