>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

WORKERS AND DRUGS: In Oregon employers have a right to require testing — as long as terms are clearly understood. (File photo).

Bill Rautenstrauch

Staff Writer

If your company lacks a workplace drug abuse policy, what kind of people do you think will apply for the jobs you offer?

Greg Hadden, a representative of the State Accident Insurance Fund, raised that question during the Union County Employer Committee's recent seminar on workplace drug abuse.

He also gave the obvious answer.

"If you don't have a policy, you're likely to end up employing drug and alcohol abusers," Hadden said. "We encourage you to get together with your legal counsel and either devise a policy or review and revise the one you already have."

Hadden was one of several experts offering local employers practical advice on the problem of workplace drug abuse during the half-day class at the Blue Mountain Conference Center.

Gary Welberg, a La Grande police officer who heads the Union County drug enforcement task force, kicked the event off with a talk on illicit drug use in the area.

To no one's surprise, Welberg said there is a growing drug problem in Union County, with methamphetamine especially wreaking havoc on individuals and society.

"About half my cases are related to meth," he said.

Marijuana is ever present, and cocaine is showing up in the area in increasing quantities.

"Cocaine's making a comeback," Welberg said. He added that abuse of prescription drugs is on the rise as well.

All the conference speakers agreed workplace and alcohol abuse is a costly problem, one that causes accidents, injury, illness, absenteeism, lost productivity and a reduction in a business's ability to compete.

And, as La Grande lawyer Susan Boyd pointed out, it can lead to expensive legal claims against employers.

"Employers have an obligation to to keep the workplace safe," Boyd said. "If you have an employee who might be using drugs or alcohol, you could be held liable for injuries he causes to others."

Boyd, like most of the other speakers, advocated for a clearly written, consistently enforced alcohol and drug abuse policy that includes pre-employment and periodic testing.

While acknowledging constitutional issues involving privacy, Boyd said that by and large Oregon employers have a right to require testing — as long as terms are clearly understood.

"You put everybody on contractual notice they don't have that kind of privacy," she said. "You give them a handbook and the time to read it, and then you ask them to sign a statement that they have read it."

Boyd noted that a company's drug abuse policy should be evenly enforced.

"Consistency is essential," she said. "If you're not consistent, you start getting into discrimination issues."

In Union County, companies generally contract with a drug testing service; employee names from the various companies are placed in a pool and selected at random.

Two local companies that provide area employers with the service were on hand at the conference.

Dr. Willard Bertrand of Crossroads Health and Nutrition said it is simply good business for a company to have a substance abuse policy, and to include random testing.

"You can't count on someone to step up and say ‘Yes, I'm using drugs while I run this front loader,' " he said. "Random testing is the only reliable way to detect drug use in the work place."

Lea Ann Shipman of Intermountain Mobile Service agreed.

"Random testing is about the only way you're going to catch it," she said.

Though use of illegal drugs is a growing problem in the area, alcohol remains the number one problem drug in the workplace, according to Bertrand.

"It's still very much at the top of the list," he said.

Bertrand outlined five testing scenarios that should be included in a company's substance abuse policy: pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion, post-accident and treatment follow-up.

Bertrand and others agreed that "reasonable suspicion" is a tricky concept, and that it is best for supervisors to be trained in recognizing signs and symptoms of drug abuse.

Nothing, however, takes the place of testing.

"Physical indicators in themselves aren't reliable," Bertrand said. "You have to have some sort of testing that doesn't rely on subjective opinion."

Hadden spoke extensively on how illegal drug use relates to workers compensation claims.

In many cases, claims can be denied if it is proven that alcohol or drugs played a significant part in the injury.

"There is an exclusion that allows us to not accept a claim if alcohol or drugs are a major contributing factor," Hadden said.

But the burden of proof is on the employer, he warned.

"Just because you smell alcohol doesn't mean that person is under the influence. You have to have a test," he said.

Hadden also cautioned that employers' written — and unwritten — policies are taken into account when claims are being examined.

"It has to be shown the employer did not permit, encourage or have knowledge of consumption," he said.

Pat Brost, an unemployment claims specialist for the Oregon Employment Department, said benefit claims can be denied when it is shown an employee failed to comply with a "reasonable written policy."

Brost said the policy should be carried out to the letter, and apply to all.

"One of the most frustrating things for us is that the employer will have a policy but not follow it," he said.