The cost to employers from illegal drug abuse is over $100 billion every year:
- 8.2% of full-time workers are current illicit drug uses
- 80% of drug abusers steal from their workplace
- 65% of all work related accidents are the direct result of substance abuse
- As many as 50% of all workers’ compensation claims involve substance abuse
Employers have an obligation to provide a safe and healthy working environment. Employees who abuse drugs jeopardize the safety and well being of all employees and impact the bottom line. In these economically challenging times, it is more important than ever to prevent and reduce expenses related to substance abuse.
Each substance abuser costs an employer about $9,600 a year in:
- Absenteeism
- Low productivity
- Loss Time From Accidents
- Increased Health Care Costs
- Increased Workers Compensation Costs
- Loss Time Handling Confrontation/Conflicts
Regardless of which tests are done, drug testing always produces a positive return on investment:
- Pre-employment drug testing can significantly improve applicant selectivity for your company. Why not avoid hiring an employee that might decrease safety, productivity and moral in your workplace, and cost you money?
- Random drug testing has been shown to be a powerful deterrent to substance abuse in the workplace for existing employees. Such programs reduce accidents, improve productivity and may provide savings on workers compensation insurance premiums.
- Reasonable Suspicion and Post-incident drug testing may be valuable in reducing liability in your operations. Reasonable Suspicion/ For Cause drug tests consistently produce the highest positive rates (18%).
