Across the United States, legislation legalizing drugs has been passed in several states, changing the lives of many. As drug testing laws continue to evolve, so will drug testing laws, regulating usage and ensuring that our most vulnerable populations are kept safe. Employee drug testing laws have been a topic of change recently, as coverage varies on a state-by-state basis. For federal employees, coverage is determined by the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. However, private employee coverage varies by state. Because of these differences, it is important to encourage regulation that protects private employees from the dangers of drug use on the job.
There are currently only 5 states that have laws in place legalizing employee drug testing: Montana, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, and South Carolina, while the majority of states consider the practice legal but with caveats. However, there are still 11 states that have no state laws pertaining to testing in the workplace. In order to make these necessary changes, over 500 bills related to drug testing were introduced in the past year. These efforts demonstrate just how much employment drug testing laws are rapidly changing. It is important to examine how the legalization of marijuana triggered these changes and how it could lead to potential problems for many in the future.
In 2012, Colorado and Washington became pioneering states in terms of legalizing substances, deeming marijuana legal for recreational use. As of last year, 19 more states and DC have followed their lead. More significantly, now 38 states and DC have legalized the medical use of marijuana. Although this is the vast majority of the states, and the changes have liberated many users, there are still drawbacks being observed by experts. Research has shown that positive marijuana tests have increased by over 45% over the past 5 years. This uptick has the potential to have serious implications for safety-sensitive industries. Specifically those that work with heavy machinery, produce taxing manual labor, or have specific skills that only certain people possess. These positions put people at a greater risk for harming themselves or others, especially when impaired on the job. In fact, recreational marijuana laws are associated with a 10% increase in workplace injuries amongst the young workforce.
In order to mitigate these risks, many state and industry leaders are taking charge by frequent drug test administration and a crackdown on test tampering. These tests can be administered for a number of reasons, all with a unique positivity rate amongst participants. Tests given due to reasonable suspicion have the highest positivity rate at 39%. However, post-accident, follow-up, return to duty, pre-employment, and random testing all currently have a 5-10% positivity rate. In order to keep these rates true and to discourage foul play, many states have implemented anti-cheating policies. The need for this stems from research that discovered a 6x increase in tampered test samples between 2022 and 2023. Currently, 10 US states have anti-cheating policies in place, including Oregon, which is also amongst the states with the most positive drug tests at 6.5%. Methods for anti-tamper drug testing include detailed check-in times, adulterant tests, dilution detection, and more. With this new technology, vulnerable industries can test their workforce without the fear of foul play skewing the results.
Some of the fields that are beginning to test their workforce more often are those that benefit from keeping their employees safe and sober. Energy utilities and transportation and warehousing are the most significant players, however, manufacturing, wholesale trade, and construction are also following closely behind with their efforts. Because these fields require more hands-on labor and focused work to be successful, it is vital to keep drugs out of these workplaces. Not doing so could result in creating a dangerous work environment for their employees. As drug legislation continues to become more lenient, drug testing laws also have to adapt to prepare Americans for the role that substances will play in our future. The first step to achieving this is setting our workforce up for success.
Source: USDrugTestCenters.com
