The need for drug testing has never been more crucial…and employer liability only increases as society becomes more casual in the acceptance of drug abuse.

Legalization

Now we may not be as laid back as our friends up north who are handing out free drugs to everyone, but more and more places in the US are legalizing drugs. The CDC reported in June 2020 that 13% of adults, age 18 and older, started or increased their substance use as a result of the pandemic. This means that 33.6 million adults began using illicit drugs to cope with emotions related to COVID-19. ODMAP, an overdose reporting system, found that 62% of US counties experienced increased drug overdoses due to the pandemic.

To keep your workplace safe, productive, and drug-free, knowing all your drug testing options is essential. Common drug test types include urine, saliva, and hair testing.

What Should I Test For?

It is essential to know which drugs to screen for. Some commonly abused drugs are:

• Narcotics: includes heroin, fentanyl, morphine, opium, methadone
• Depressants: includes benzodiazepines, barbiturates, methaqualone, quaaludes
• Stimulants: includes cocaine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, methamphetamine
• Hallucinogens: common “club drugs” such as ecstasy, LSD, phencyclidine
• Cannabis: includes marijuana, THC, hashish
• Synthetics: includes spice, bath salts, anabolic steroids

Types Of Testing Available

It is also essential to review your company policy to ensure all your drug testing needs are being met. Blueline offers many different testing options. Our most popular tests are:

• 5 Panel: includes amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, opiates, and phencyclidine
• 7 Panel: consists of all 5-panel drugs, plus barbiturates and benzodiazepines
• 9 Panel: consists of all 7-panel drugs, plus barbiturates propoxyphene
• 10 Panel: includes all 9-panel drugs, plus methadone and methaqualone
• Popular Add-ons: tramadol, meperidine, fentanyl, spice, bath salts

Knowing which drugs to screen for can be tricky. Luckily, Blueline can help you navigate the right testing configuration for your organization and the proper drug testing policy catered specifically to your needs.

The post It’s Been a While Since Breaking Bad, so Here’s Your Refresher Course on Illegal Drugs appeared first on Blueline.

Proper employment screening is the most effective way for companies to reduce their overall risk and liability. Background checks help ensure a quality hiring decision and save your company time and money. Ban the box policies have tightened the regulations on these screenings.

The background check industry is facing significant challenges. Legislation, known as ban-the-box laws, prohibits employers from asking criminal history questions during the hiring process. These laws are intended to provide applicants with a fair chance at employment by delaying background checks until further along in the hiring process. Ban-the-box policies have been enacted in 36 states and over 150 cities.

HR managers are faced with finding the balance between being liable for negligent hiring and giving applicants with a criminal history a fair chance to be evaluated. Thorough background checks can uncover all the information necessary for employers to make the right decisions in hiring.

Being able to access the full records of a potential employee makes the hiring decision much simpler, with the integrity and safety of the company and its current employees being kept secure. It’s understandable to want to give the ability to individuals with checkered histories the chance to return to the workforce without being labeled. However, in certain roles, it’s also imperative the applicant be forthcoming with any hidden records that may impact the role itself.

Staying within compliance is an ever-growing challenge unto itself in this evolving time, and the team at Blueline is here to make it an easier road to navigate. Let us help you through the entire hiring process, and take you through any testing and reporting that may be required after the hiring work is done.

Blueline’s customizable screening services offer:

• Identity verification
• Criminal record checks
• Driving records checks
• Reference checks
• National database

Let Blueline help you keep external threats from becoming internal threats. We are here to make sure you stay in compliance with all new rules and regulations.

The post Ban the Box? appeared first on Blueline.

Keep Testing For Marijuana?

Marijuana is still federally illegal and is considered a Schedule I drug, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. Because state and federal laws differ for marijuana use, drug testing can be complicated especially for companies across multiple states. What does all of this uncertainty mean for employers?

Some companies may choose to remove marijuana screening from their drug testing policy for various reasons. The window of detection for marijuana use is a common reason. Employers often wonder how accurately impairment can be decided based on a positive test because marijuana stays in your system longer than many other drugs. So… there still isn’t a viable option for testing for real-time impairment. Another frequent concern of HR professionals is an issue of privacy in states that have legalized the drug.

Does Testing Help Limit Employee Risk?

There are many reasons to continue screening for marijuana use. Other ongoing benefits of testing include it can prevent drug users from applying to your company. Continued screening or random drug testing can also help protect your company from legal liability if an accident occurs. According to a study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, employees that tested positive for marijuana were 55% more likely to have industrial accidents, 85% more likely to be injured, and 75% more likely to be absent. Screening for cannabis may be beneficial, particularly for those in safety-sensitive positions where employee risk is concerned.

Untangling the issue of whether or not to screen for marijuana can be tricky. Let Blueline experts help you implement a drug testing program that will keep your company and employees safe and compliant.

The post Amazon Has Entered the Jungle of Serious Employee Risk & Liability appeared first on Blueline.

Drug overdoses can happen anywhere, and the workplace is not exempt from these problems. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported that drug overdose deaths at work have increased for seven years in a row.

Drug Overdose Rates Soaring

Drug related deaths in the U.S. skyrocketed 30% in 2020 to a record 93,331. This means an average of 256 Americans died every day from a drug overdose. This surge of overdoses was not unforeseen as drug abuse is a continually increasing problem in the U.S.

The strongest approach to prevent workplace drug overdoses is to implement a drug testing policy for your company.

How Can Drug Testing Reduce Workplace Drug Overdoses?

There are many circumstances in which a company may conduct drug testing. Each of these strategies can be used to eliminate the chance of a workplace overdose.

• Pre-Employment: This test is used to establish illicit drug use by a potential hire. Your workplace is less likely to have drug problems if applicant testing becomes part of the hiring process.
• Random: A random selection process chooses employees to perform drug testing. This will ensure employees are following your workplace drug policy.
• Post-Accident: This is performed after a workplace incident occurs. When a company has a post-accident drug testing policy, employees are less likely to consume drugs before or during work.
• Reasonable Suspicion: When there is evidence or reasonable cause to suspect an employee’s drug use, this test can be performed. Supervisors must complete a prior training course to report drug and alcohol symptoms.
• Return to Duty: This test may be used as a condition of a worker’s return to safety-sensitive duties after a company’s drug or alcohol policy has been violated. This will help prevent continued policy violations.

As drug overdose deaths are continuing to soar throughout the country, Blueline is here to protect your company. We can help navigate this sensitive subject by creating a drug testing program that is right for you.

The post How Drug Testing Can Prevent Workplace Death appeared first on Blueline.

These guidelines will allow federal executive branch agencies to collect and test oral fluid specimen as a part of their drug testing programs.

The OFMG will be effective starting January 1st 2020. However, federal agencies will not be able to conduct oral fluid drug testing of federal employees until HHS has approved laboratories for oral fluid drug testing in accordance with the OFMG.

These guidelines may also be used by agencies such as the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as part of their regulated drug testing programs, but these agencies must engage in separate rule-making activities.

This is the first time since 1986 that a specimen other than urine will be able to be used in the federal agency testing programs.

Some important things to take note of with these new changes:

-The specimen collection, laboratory analysis, and medical review of oral fluid tests will mirror existing procedures and processes currently in place for urine drug testing.
-Laboratories must be approved by the HHS National Laboratory Certification Program for oral fluid drug testing. Requirements for approval will largely mirror those currently in place for urine drug testing laboratories.
-The oral fluid specimen collections must be observed, use an FDA-cleared specimen collection device, and will require split specimen procedures using 2 separate devices.
-Federal agencies will be allowed to use oral fluid testing for all of the same testing reasons as currently authorized for urine drug testing and will not be required to choose between using only urine or oral fluid.
-An approved federal custody and control form (CCF) will be used to document the oral fluid collection and establish chain of custody of the specimen.
-The drug testing panel will test for the same drugs as the federal panel for urine drug testing. Cut-off levels specific to oral fluid are included in the OFMG.
-The OFMG contains provisions for when an individual cannot provide adequate volume oral specimen or urine specimen.
-The OFMG only refers to and permits lab-based oral fluid drug testing, not instant or POCT oral fluid testing.

It has taken many years from the first time SAMHSA publicly recognized the valuable attributes of lab-based oral fluid testing until now—announcing the proposed regulations. The agency has said that their hopes with releasing oral fluid testing options will be to help reduce time and money needed in order to maintain a drug testing program, and help eliminate the ever-growing issue of drug test cheating.

To see further details on these latest updates, you can view the guideline announcement here.

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Why Do Employers Need A Query Plan?

In order to conduct queries within the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, employers of CDL drivers and owner-operators must purchase a query plan.

The Clearinghouse final rule requires that employers conduct queries both as part of any pre-employment driver investigation and at least annually for every CDL driver they currently employ.

Please note that query purchases are required for designated consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs) to conduct queries on prospective and current drivers in the Clearinghouse and that C/TPAs cannot purchase queries on behalf of employers.

There is a $1.25 flat rate per query – including both limited and full queries. However, options are available for high-volume users.

To see more details about the Clearinghouse query plans, you can visit their website here.

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One of the biggest worries or impacts following marijuana’s legalization is the potential for high costs at employers’ expense. These costs can include higher worker’s compensation, more drug testing, and potential increased litigation costs. Current Compliance said that if even 1% of American small businesses have a marijuana-related court case each year, the cost to small businesses nationwide would be approximately 48 billion dollars annually.

Their survey also found that a large percentage of employers were confused as to whether they could still test for marijuana.

Yes! You can still test for marijuana. In fact, you should be!

As an employer you have the right to maintain a safe and drug-free workplace. With all of these changes in legislation, it is more important than ever before that employers protect themselves. The benefits and return on drug testing have withstood the test of time and will continue to help employers control and prevent liability costs.

If you have questions about drug testing or how you can improve your workplace program in order to protect your company, reach out to our drug testing department. You can reach them by phone or email: 888-919-8378 or mail@blueline-services.com.

The post 2019 Update: Marijuana In The Workplace appeared first on Blueline.

There are some exceptions to this new ruling. The ban will not apply to firefighters, EMTs, employees who operate motor vehicles, work for the federal government or who are involved in other safety sensitive positions as determined by their employer.

To see the exact details and exceptions to this bill, you can view the bill in its entiretyhere.

“As our legal cannabis industry continues to flourish, it’s important to ensure the door of economic opportunity remains open for all Nevadans,” Governor Sisolak said in a statement. “That’s why I was proud to sign AB 132 into law.”

Nevada employers will still be able to administer pre-employment screenings for other drugs, but positive cannabis screenings will no longer be able cause for not hiring an applicant.

This new legislation is intended to help protect discrimination against those who are lawfully using marijuana, as recreational marijuana was legalized in Nevada in 2017.

If you are located in Nevada or hire within Nevada and have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our drug testing team.

The post Nevada Bans Employers From Refusing To Hire Applicants Who Fail Marijuana Tests appeared first on Blueline.

Last month, a federal court in Connecticut ruled that refusing to hire a medical marijuana user after they tested positive during a pre-employment drug screening is a violation of the state’s medical marijuana law.

This is the first ruling of its kind in a federal case, following other similar recent rulings in state courts (Massachusetts and Rhode Island) that have been in favor of protecting marijuana users. Previous rulings, such as those in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, have sided against medical cannabis users in employment cases.

In this latest case, Noffsinger v. SSC NIANTIC OPERATING COMPANY, LLC, Katelin Noffsinger had been offered and accepted a job as a recreation therapy director at a nursing home, contingent on her passing a drug test. After the drug test came back positive for THC, the nursing home rescinded the job offer, worried that hiring her would cause them to lose their funding as a federal contractor.

The nursing home was following federal law that still states marijuana use is illegal, whether for medicinal or recreational purposes. However, the Connecticut Palliative Use of Marijuana Act (PUMA) gives a private right of action to aggrieved medical marijuana patients in Connecticut.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Meyer said that the federal Drug Free Workplace Act does not prohibit federal contractors from employing people who use medical marijuana outside the workplace in accordance with state law.

This case is a good reminder for employers to not only refer to federal laws regarding marijuana, but to also look at state law prior to making any employment decisions or drafting employment policies. Laws concerning marijuana have been changing consistently over the past few years so it’s more important than ever to stay up-to-date with your state’s specific laws.

The post New Federal Court Ruling On Medical Marijuana Use Favors Employees appeared first on Blueline.

As of February 1st, 2018, Maine became the first jurisdiction in the nation to protect workers from negative employment actions based on off-duty marijuana usage.

While Maine voters approved these protections back in November of 2016 with the legalization of marijuana (“Question 1 – An Act to Legalize Marijuana” or “the Act”), some sections of the Act were delayed to provide additional time to prepare for the changes.

These employment anti-discrimination provisions from the Act are now effective, however, and are changing the way Maine does drug testing.

What exactly do Maine’s new employment protections cover?

The employment protections in the Act prohibit Maine employers from refusing to employ or otherwise penalizing any person age 21 or older based on that person “consuming marijuana outside… employer’s… property.” Job applicants are also no longer allowed to be tested for marijuana.

Exceptions to these new rules include employers who receive federal funding or are hiring for safety sensitive positions where marijuana is still prohibited.

Under the Act, employers are allowed to ban the use and possession of marijuana “in the workplace” and given the right to “discipline employees who are under the influence of marijuana in the workplace”.

However, a drug test alone will not be able to prove that an employee is “under the influence”, the Maine Department of Labor stated.

Unlike alcohol, where impairment can be confirmed with a blood alcohol test, marijuana does not currently have any sort of impairment test equivalent. Testing for marijuana is currently only able to see if someone has used marijuana in the past couple of days or weeks, not if it is presently in their system.

In order to fire an employee based on workplace marijuana usage, employers must be able to prove symptoms of impairment.

However, if someone isn’t performing their job well or is doing something that would be cause for termination, employers are, of course, able to let that person go. What employers are no longer able to do based on Maine’s state laws is fire someone solely on their use of marijuana outside of the workplace.

What should you do as an employer?

All employers, both in Maine and outside of it, would be well-advised to revisit their drug and alcohol policies. Ensuring that these policies are clearly defined to both current and potential employees will help protect yourself, your employees, and get rid of any gray areas.  With the recent legalization of marijuana in many states, it’s more important than ever to make sure both you and your employees understand your state and your individual company’s drug testing policies.

All states with legalized marijuana, aside from Maine, currently have exemptions for workplace drug testing policy. This means that the employment protections above are not applicable to other states, and employers are able to fire employees for failing a drug test based on marijuana usage.

Depending on your industry and workplace environment, you might have a different set of policies than your neighboring company.

More information and updates on recreational marijuana law in Maine can be found on Maine’s legislature page here: https://legislature.maine.gov/9419

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