Reasonable Suspicion Drug Testing

By: Rich Strasser
Date: 3/1/2006

Companies throughout the world spend millions of dollars every year to insure a drug-free workplace. Drug testing is performed for many different reasons. Although it seems that employers go through exhaustive efforts to screen new applicants with drug testing and background checks, they often neglect obvious signs of ongoing drug use and abuse once someone is hired.

The Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) statistics indicate that approximately 77% of all drug users are currently employed. These employees account for almost 8% of our entire workforce. There are several traits or characteristics that can assist an employer in identifying these drug users as demonstrated by the following SAMHSA statistics:

• Late for work three times as often as fellow employees.

• Ask for early dismissal twice as often as other employees.

• Absent 2.5 times more often than fellow employees.

• File five times more workers compensation claims.

• Have 3.5 times more accidents on the job.

• Function at 67% normal work rate.

As an employer, see if any of the following apply:

• More illnesses, especially colds/flu?

• More grievances being filed?

• Employees taking longer coffee and lunch breaks?

• Increase in thefts?

• More strangers in and around buildings?

• Increase in accidents?

• Rise in absenteeism?

Most drug-free workplace policies outline the requirement for employee drug testing in the following instances: pre-employment screening of job applicants; random testing; post-accident testing; fitness for duty (return to work); safety sensitive positions, and referrals by management...reasonable suspicion. I have often been asked, "What constitutes 'reasonable suspicion' and how can employers protect themselves from any potential liability regarding the enforcement of their companies' reasonable suspicion (cause) testing policy?" The simple answer to these questions is to insure your supervisors have obtained the proper training in this area.

As an instructor of Drug Abuse Recognition (DAR) for law enforcement, I have modified the law enforcement one-week DAR course into a oneday training and practical application workshop for workplace supervisors. This training provides the tools necessary for supervisors to recognize drug use and the objective symptoms demonstrated by someone under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Although many people associate drug abuse with Marijuana, Methamphetamine, and Cocaine, it also encompasses abuse of alcohol and prescription drugs. It seems helpful to use the following acronym to assist in drug classifications: SHOMADIP.

S - Stimulants 
H - Hallucinogens 
O - Opiates
M - Marijuana 
A - Alcohol 
D - Depressants 
I - Inhalants 
P - Phencyclidine (PCP)

Of these eight drug classifications, each falls into one of two categories when describing drug influence, they are either Stimulants or Depressants.

Many drug-free workplace policies have incorporated a checkbox style form to be used when making a recommendation for an employee to be tested. These forms include check boxes for bloodshot watery eyes, staggered gait, slurred speech, and an odor of alcohol, however, in order to make an accurate and reasonable evaluation, other objective symptoms (indicators) should be considered. These are the same objective symptoms that are used by law enforcement during a Field Sobriety Test (FST). However, since the standard necessary to recommend that someone submit to a reasonable suspicion drug test in the workplace is lower than the standard necessary for an officer seeking probable cause to make an arrest, I recommend that some of the symptoms be used as a guide during your interview of the employee. For example, the eyes can tell you a lot about a person's sobriety. Nystagmus should be considered when evaluating for alcohol use. Nystagmus is the involuntary rhythmic movement of the eyes. While eye movement associated with Nystagmus usually is horizontal, it can be vertical or circular. Both eyes usually move together. The onset of horizontal Nystagmus can assist in determining if the employee is under the influence of alcohol. Additional observations that can be made by watching a person's eyes include convergence and pupil size. Convergence is the crossing of the eyes. If someone is unable to cross their eyes this is a good indicator of marijuana use. Stimulants will cause pupils to be dilated, while a depressant will cause the pupils to constrict.

These are some of the indicators that can be used while making your evaluation without actually having to conduct a law enforcement style FST. The purpose of this type of training is to provide the tools necessary to assist supervisors in making educated evaluations of drug abuse in the workplace. Reasonable suspicion drug testing is a very effective way to insure a safe workplace while protecting the rights of the employer and the employee.

Rich Strasser, CPCT is the Co-Owner of Drug Testing Service. He can be contacted at 877.634.3784, or by email at rstrasser@drugtestingservice.com, or visit www.drugtestingservice.com.