IMPORTANT INFO:
USIS will be closed on Monday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, July 5. Clients requiring post-accident or emergency testing services over the holiday should call (800) 288-8504.

If you are not currently conducting substance abuse testing through USIS, and you would like more information on these services, please call (866) 205-6129.

REGULATORY UPDATES:

From the U.S. DOT Office of Drug & Alcohol Policy
& Compliance:

Safety/Consumer Alert on Breath Testing Device: Employers covered under DOT & USCG drug and alcohol testing regulations should not use the “Alcohol √” disposable breath alcohol screening device manufactured by Akers Biosciences, Inc.’s of Thorofare, N.J. At the end of February, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) notified Akers Biosciences that its “Alcohol √” breath alcohol screening device was not in compliance with NHTSA requirements for a breath screening device. Although originally approved by NHTSA, recent testing showed that the device had been substantially modified, creating both false positives and false negatives. Because consumers have no way of distinguishing between the original Akers device and the non-conforming modified device, DOT is recommending that none of the Akers “Alcohol √” devices be used.

RSPA (Research and Special Programs Administration) is no more: Two new DOT agencies have been created to replace Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA). The Research & Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) will be dedicated to the advancement of the department’s priorities for innovation and research in transportation technologies and concepts. The Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will replace RSPA’s Office of Hazardous Materials Safety and Office of Pipeline Safety. PHMSA will have responsibility for the drug testing program formerly operated by RSPA for the pipeline industry. For more information, visit www.phmsa.dot.gov/.

Employer requirements for requesting background information from prior employers (40.25): FMCSA and FAA regulated employers complying with the drug and alcohol information records check requirements contained in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulation 49 CFR Part 391 and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Pilot Record Improvement Act are considered to be compliant with the 40.25 requirement. They do not need to seek separately the 40.25 information for obtaining an employee’s prior drug and alcohol testing information.

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DID YOU KNOW?

An estimated 14.8 million Americans are current illicit drug users.

• 44 percent work for small businesses (1-24 employees).
• 47 percent work for medium businesses (25-499 employees).
• 13 percent work for large businesses (500 or more employees).
• Among employed adults, the highest rates of current illicit drug use and heavy drinking are reported by white, non-Hispanic males who are between the ages of 18 and 25 and have less than a high school education.
• By occupation, the highest rates of current illicit drug use and heavy drinking were reported by food preparation workers, waiters, waitresses and bartenders (19 percent); construction workers (14 percent); service occupations (13 percent); and transportation and material moving workers (10 percent).

(Source: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Household Survey on Drug Abuse.)

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Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Rehabilitation ACT - Implications for Drug Testing:

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employment discrimination against employees and applicants with disabilities in organizations that employ 15 or more people. The term “disability” means an individual has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his/her major life activities or there is a record of such impairment or an individual is regarded as having such impairment.

The key for employers conducting drug testing lies in the in the fact that “employees currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs are not individuals with a disability when the employer acts on the basis of such use. “Currently” means that the illegal use of drugs “occurred recently enough to justify the employer’s reasonable belief that involvement with drugs is an ongoing problem.”

The following outlines permissible employer actions:

• Employers may prohibit the illegal use of drugs and the use of alcohol in the workplace.
• The ADA is not violated by tests for illegal use of drugs.
• Employers may discharge or deny employment to persons who currently engage in the illegal use of drugs.
• Employers may not discriminate against drug addicts who are not currently using drugs and have been rehabilitated or have a history of drug addiction.
• Employers may not discriminate against drug addicts who are currently in a rehabilitation program. (The EEOC has clarified that a rehabilitation program includes in-patient or outpatient programs, Employee Assistance Programs, or recognized self-help programs such as Narcotics Anonymous.)

For more information, go to www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm.

FOCUS ON:
The DAC News Service seeks to educate by providing information on topics of broad interest and concern to employers. Therefore, every so often, we will select subjects we believe to be relevant and informative to the workplace environment. This month’s topic is “Marijuana.”

Marijuana - Fact & Fiction:
It is difficult to determine what is or is not true about marijuana. It is glamorized via entertainment media in music videos and youth popular music, and in movies featuring use and involvement without serious consequences. Parents who used marijuana in their youth now find it difficult to talk to their own children about it. Some think it is safer to use than alcohol. Many know individuals who have used marijuana either in the past or currently who appear to be successful and have no apparent problems.

What is a person to think? Is it really harmful? The following information will give you a pretty good idea of how dangerous marijuana can be.

• Marijuana compromises the ability to learn and remember information.
• Critical skills related to attention, memory and learning can be impaired and can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off.
• Marijuana users have more trouble sustaining and shifting their attention and in registering, organizing and using information.
• Marijuana was the third most commonly abused drug mentioned in drug-related hospital emergency department visits.
• One-fourth of marijuana users drink at work, one-fourth use drugs at work, and 40 percent use drugs with coworkers.
• One-fourth of marijuana users admit to cocaine use.
• Driving:

  • In a recent study of over 1,000 patients in shock trauma because of traffic accidents, 32 percent had marijuana alone—no other drug or alcohol—in their blood.
  • In a summary of a number of studies, 4 to 16 percent of fatally injured drivers had marijuana alone in their blood.
  • Hundreds of performance studies have demonstrated that marijuana significantly impairs fine and gross motor control, divides attention, impairs vigilance, impairs reaction time and decreases the ability to maintain a straight lane position.
• Heavy users of marijuana develop tolerance for it and require increasing doses.
• Other health effects: cancer, decreased immune response, increased risk of heart attacks, etc.
• Psycho-social effects: aggressive behavior, lack of caring, fatigue and poor job/learning performance. The impact on an individual and in the workplace is clear. If an employee’s position calls for utilizing motor skills such as driving, operating machinery, etc.—or anything that requires memory, attention to detail, learning, etc., the marijuana user may well be a liability not only to himself/herself but to other workers and the company itself.
• Care, self-help programs, etc., must be extended to rehabilitated drug addicts or individuals undergoing rehabilitation.
• A person who is an alcoholic may be an “individual with a disability” under the ADA.
• Employers may discipline, discharge or deny employment to alcoholics whose use of alcohol impairs job performance or conduct to the same extent that such conduct would result in disciplinary action for other employees.
• Employees who use drugs and alcohol may be required to meet the same standards of performance and conduct set for other employees.
• Employees may be required to follow the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and rules set by federal agencies pertaining to alcohol and drug use in the workplace.
• The ADA does not protect casual drug users, but individuals with a record of addiction or who are erroneously perceived as being addicts, would be covered by the guidelines.

Please visit www.nida.nih.gov for more information.

(Information extracted from U.S. Department of Labor publications and extracted from research funded by and/or reported to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.)

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View the 2005 Shedule for Commercial Services.

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