Drug-free Policy Statements Should Spell Out Principles and Consequences

RCS Influencer Monica Cameron says that new employees receive copies of the formal written drug-free policy as part of their onboarding process.

Whether substance abuse occurs at home or at work, employees who abuse drugs and alcohol can create significant issues for both employers and other employees, such as lower job performance, reduced productivity and greater absenteeism, not to mention higher medical and workers’ compensation.

In large part to address these potential issues, drug testing has become the norm for our company.  However, today’s legal restrictions regarding drug testing – if done incorrectly – can be problematic!  Therefore, our company has created standardized employment practices and drug-testing procedures to help prevent any inconsistencies.

As part of our company’s pre-employment practices, we provide a conditional offer which is contingent on the successful completion of a Workplace Drug Screening which initiates our mandatory Drug-Free Workplace Policy.  Once the applicant has been hired and as part of their onboarding process, the new employee is given Diamond Roofing’s formal written policy.

Within our policy statement, the language includes three principles: 1) why our company established the policy; 2) what precisely is expected of our employees; and 3) what the consequences are for policy violation.  As part of actions that are taken against employees for violations to this policy, we describe the disciplinary action procedures and employee assistance requirements.

There are additional provisions within the policy that specify precisely under what circumstances and conditions that our company intends to drug test; as well as, details regarding which drugs we will test for.  At the time of collection, we have designated employer representatives that follow a procedure card to ensure the accuracy and validity of the testing process.

In the event that the initial screen is positive or invalid, the new employee may request a second confirmatory test at a designated occupational health clinic to be reviewed by a medical review officer.  And finally, since the result is considered protected health information, the employer representative maintains the private record in the employee’s confidential medical file.

 Monica Cameron is vice president of Diamond Roofing. See her full bio here.