Combatting drug use and opioids in construction

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By Nathan Jurowski

We are all waking up to the realities of the devastating effects that opioid abuse can have on employees and businesses in the construction industry. The statistics are overwhelming and offer only a glimpse into the damage done to our workers and their families. Fortunately, our industry and political leaders have begun to champion and carry out real plans to eliminate this scourge.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids killed nearly 48,000 people in 2017.[i] Given the nature of construction, injury rates in our industry are relatively high and opioids are commonly prescribed to treat workers’ pain.[ii]

The statistics bear out similar results for illicit drug use: Of those working in all the major industry sectors, construction workers have the highest rates of heroin and methadone-related overdose deaths.[iii]

The toll this takes on people is seen in a higher rate of hospital days, ER visits, untreated depression or mental illnesses and the development of other costly physical-health problems. Increased workplace accidents result in increased worker’s compensation and disability claims. Individual and team productivity is diminished, accompanied by tardiness and absences at the workplace.

Ultimately, turnover presents additional rehiring costs and the loss of experience and knowledge, training and continuity. Outside the personal effects and wilting productivity, all of this can harm morale and a company’s reputation.

The figures on opioids have garnered quite a bit of public attention lately, resulting in congressional action. In late 2018, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act was signed into law. Also known as the SUPPORT Act, this law was designed to promote prevention, treatment and recovery as well as enforcement. Of note, it will provide funding to research alternatives to addictive pain treatment, it will proscribe expanding telemedicine services to rural areas and will pay for early intervention for those identified as at-risk for opioid-use disorder.

At the state level, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Department of Justice have picked up the mantle through direct services and the Dose of Reality Wisconsin campaign.

Using public-awareness campaigns, Wisconsin Opioid Treatment Programs, direct collaborations with treatment providers, and grant funding and training, the state is establishing a vast network of care.

The construction industry in Wisconsin is also working to protect workers. In many trades, labor and management representatives have adopted the Construction Trades Substance Abuse Testing and Assistance Program. Under this comprehensive plan, testing occurs before people are hired, after accidents occur, upon reasonable suspicion and at random. Members who receive a non-negative test result receive assistance and services through their respective union’s Employee Assistance Program. The program is funded through direct employer contributions, thus giving companies an incentive to participate and make their worksites safer.

Outside of these labor agreements, and other situations like public-works contracts and maintaining a CDL, Wisconsin contractors are under little obligation to adopt testing programs.

Regardless, investing in treatment can lead to substantial cost savings by improving work performance and productivity, while reducing interpersonal conflicts, turnover, drug-related accidents and insurance costs. The savings to employers for investing in substance-abuse treatment can exceed the costs by a ratio of 12 to 1.[iv] However, there are many legal pitfalls awaiting unwary, otherwise safety-conscious, employers.

The Americans with Disabilities Act, for instance, may protect an employee’s use of over-the-counter or prescription drugs to treat a disability. The 12 weeks of unpaid leave protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act may include substance-abuse treatment, but only for treatments that are administered or ordered by a health-care provider. Programs must comply with employees’ civil rights, ensuring that policies cannot be construed to discriminate by race, age, sex or other characteristics. Individual privacy must be protected, and steps should be taken to prevent the sharing of personal information. For these reasons, it is a good idea to consult an attorney or health-services professional before adopting a plan to treat substance abuse.

Legal considerations aside, carrying out a plan can seem daunting. To simplify matters, it is helpful to take two particular steps. The first of these can be called “awareness and prevention” and the second “return to work.”

The heading of awareness and prevention would take into account communication, instruction, management training, and workplace health and wellness programs. Drawing up a safe return-to-work plan requires working directly with benefit-plan managers, healthcare-benefits providers, and worker’s compensation and disability carriers. Health-insurance providers can help by covering comprehensive substance-abuse treatment. Employers may also consider adopting their own EAP’s.

The effects of drug use in the workplace have come in for national attention as of late, and the construction industry has been hit the hardest. Congress and the state of Wisconsin are taking decisive action, and the local construction industry has adopted preventive measures. Despite the legal and procedural complexities, the high human and actual costs of this scourge should compel employers to pursue policies and procedures, training and programs necessary to keep jobsites safe and employees healthy.

[i] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention (December 19, 2018). Understanding the Epidemic. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/epidemic/index.html

[ii] The Center for Construction Research and Training (last accessed January 11, 2019). Opioid Resources, Resources to Prevent Opioid Deaths in Construction. Retrieved from https://www.cpwr.com/research/opioid-resources

[iii] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (August 24, 2018). Occupational Patterns in Unintentional and Undetermined Drug-Involved and Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths — United States, 2007–2012. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6733a3.htm?s_cid=mm6733a3_w

[iv] National Safety Council (2014). The Proactive Role Employers Can Take: Opioids in the Workplace. https://www.nsc.org/Portals/0/Documents/RxDrugOverdoseDocuments/RxKit/The-Proactive-Role-Employers-Can-Take-Opioids-in-the-Workplace.pdf