- The cost of alcohol and drug abuse in our society is $237 billion annually
- About 75% of all illicit drug users in the U.S. are employed
Some of the hoops we must go through to successfully defend a positive drug test claim are the result of the Ohio Supreme Court ruling involving the burden of proof and probable cause. Because we have no presence at the work site, as a third party labor supplier it is not in our reach to claim probable cause for the purpose of forcing the post accident drug test. As a result we must accept the burden of proof.
As part of this process we first need to make sure the test is done in a timely manner. Those employees with test concerns will use all sorts of tricks to avoid a timely test. They will tell the hospital that our client is their employer not Ryan Staffing so our protocol is not administered. They will not report the injury as work related or they will put off treatment for 48 hours or longer.
Once we have a timely test result we analyze the mechanism injury and the likelihood the drug test result caused the accident. In rare cases the accident could have occurred regardless of the employee’s intoxication.
We make certain that an MRO (Medical Review Officer) has reviewed the results with the claimant and are satisfied that prescription drugs or other legitimate reasons are not the cause of the positive test.
When we have all of our ducks lined up we enforce our zero tolerance policy and terminate the employee. Every step of this process is thoroughly documented for the inevitable need at the legal proceedings to come. We have pending claims where the individual has already filed for unemployment and welfare before the Workers Compensation hearing has even been held, so the need for documentation extends beyond the WC claim.
Because the burden of proof is on us for the reasons already discussed we next have the entire file reviewed by our Medical Expert to determine if the positive drug test was the direct and proximate cause of the accident.
If our suspicions are confirmed the claim is rejected and the matter is turned over to our attorney to present our legal argument at hearing before the Industrial Commission and beyond.
With most of these cases, the individual involved does a disappearing act and is never heard from again. We have had a few of these claims appealed to court only to get settled for nuisance value. The one positive drug test claim that we lost was due to the fact that the Hearing Officer determined that the accident/injury would have happened regardless of the drug influence. (another person dropped a bar on the claimants foot)
Supporting your staffing supplier challenge to positive drug test Workers Compensation claims is very important to your bottom line. The most important reason for doing this is that you do not want these people working in your facility along side your own employees.
What you can do to assist your supplier is make sure the injured person is drug tested when they receive treatment. Always notify the supplier immediately about the injury… time is of the essence. Support their Drug Free Workplace Policies and encourage random drug testing at your workplace.
It has been our experience that random drug testing is a much more effective deterrent than pre employment drug testing alone to weed out the users. Often times the users apply “clean” and resume abuse after they start working. With random testing they are always aware of the possibility of getting caught. And along with getting caught comes getting fired and the possibility of losing their welfare and unemployment benefits.
The cost of substance and alcohol abuse in the workplace can be staggering. Over the next few months the “Corner Stool” will show you how.
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