NEGATIVE — EMPLOYMENT — WORKPLACE DRUG TESTING 307

JUSTIFIED BY DRUG DAMAGES IN THE WORKPLACE

WORKPLACE DRUG USE THREATENS WORKPLACE SAFETY AND COSTS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR

Zelinski Cohill, Ellen, + B.S., magna cum laude, 1981, Towson State University; M.A.S., 1986, Johns Hopkins University; J.D., 1992, University of Baltimore School of Law, Fall, 1992, The University of Baltimore Law Review, " GOVERNMENT DRUG TESTING IN MARYLAND: THE IMPLICATIONS OF CITY OF ANNAPOLIS v. UNITED FOOD & COMMERCIAL WORKERS, LOCAL 400"//lxnx-Sj

     [*1]  Drug abuse has reached epidemic proportions in American society, n1 affecting the workplace in several ways. First, employees who are drug abusers jeopardize the safety of their co-workers and the general public; those using drugs have three to four times as many accidents as other employees. n2 Second, employees who use drugs have a "higher rate of absenteeism, with estimates ranging from 2.5 to  [*2]  16 times higher than employees who do not use drugs." n3 Third, drug abusers are likely to cause insurance costs to escalate because of increased accident claims. Finally, because of the illegal use of drugs in the workplace, billions of dollars are lost in productivity and absenteeism each year in the United States. n4

DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE COSTS EMPLOYERS ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS ANUALLY

Shepler, Aaron C. J.D. candidate, Arizona State University College of Law, 1999, Summer, 1998, Arizona State Law Journal, NOTE, COMMENTS & LEGISLATIVE REVIEWS: Hart v. Seven Resorts, Inc.: Should the Arizona Constitution Protect Employees from Employer-Mandated Drug Testing?//lxnx-Sj

Drug testing of employees has become almost universal. In 1988, employers tested some eight million employees for illegal drugs. n1 By 1992, that figure would rise to an estimated twenty-two million. n2 Presently, nearly half of all employers nationwide have some kind of drug testing program in place. n3 The reason behind this rise in drug testing is simple: according to some estimates, employee drug and alcohol use costs employers up to one hundred billion dollars annually in lost productivity, medical expenses, and absenteeism. n4 Hoping to stem these losses, employers in virtually every industry have initiated drug testing programs. n5

THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF LARGE SCALE DRUG ABUSE ARE EVIDENT IN MANY DIFFERENT SOCIAL ARENA'S AT AN ECTREMELY HIGH COST

Adams, Edward S. , J.D. Candidate 1988, The University of Chicago. , FALL, 1987 , University of Chicago Law Review," COMMENT: Random Drug Testing of Government Employees: A Constitutional Procedure"//lxnx-Sj

The effects of drug use on American society are great. The $ 27 billion to $ 110 billion in estimated narcotics traffic each year fuels and contributes to crime. n5 Industrial costs of drug abuse are monumental.  [*1337]  "In human terms they include lost jobs, injuries, illnesses, and deaths. In economic terms they include property damage, tardiness, absenteeism, lost productivity, quality control problems, increased health insurance costs, increased worker's compensation costs, the cost of replacing and training new employees, and employee theft." n6 Government estimates suggest that drug abuse cost employers in the United States $ 33 billion in 1985. n7