Dive Brief:
- Until three years ago, inappropriate workplace drug use had been on the downslide. But, according to a recent analysis of nearly 11 million workforce drug tests, the percentage of American employees testing positive for drugs has steadily increased in that time period to a 10-year high.
- The analysis, The Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index, shows that the positivity rate for 9.5 million urine drug tests in the combined U.S. workforce increased to 4%, a relative change of 2.6% over the positivity rate in 2014. The 2015 positivity rate reflects a relative increase of 14% over the 10-year low of 3.5% in both 2010 and 2011.
- There is a rising positivity rate for post-accident urine drug testing in both the general U.S. and federally-mandated, safety-sensitive workforces, as post-accident positivity increased 6.2% in 2015 over 2014, and increased 30% since 2011. For safety-sensitive workers, the positivity rate has gone up 22% during that five-year period.
Dive Insight:
The analysis clearly shows that drug use by the American workforce is rising, and according to the report, the trend extends to several different classes of drugs and categories of drug tests. Employers should be concerned about the impact on worker safety and health, consumer safety, productivity and more.
One national trend mirrored by the report is a decline in workplace drug test positives for certain prescription opiates while there is a corresponding increase in heroin positives. This rise in heroin use has been documented in the media on numerous occasions, so it's only logical that it would find it's way into the workplace.
In a related issue, new OSHA post-accident reporting rules are making some employers unhappy, mainly because the rules, which went into effect Aug. 10, could delay drug testing after an accident has occurred. Employers need to stay in step with these new changes as they impact drug testing.
