Recent statistics show a program to reduce injured workers’ dependency on opioids is working. In 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, which administers comp for federal workers, implemented a four-point strategy to reduce opioid use that often leads to misuse and addiction. The OWCP: instituted more effective controls at the […]
Scenario: An employee has a medical marijuana license. A question about impairment and a safety-sensitive job arises. Will a drug test or federal law protect your company? Increasingly, the answer to that question is no – at least not relying solely on a drug test or federal law. That was the takehome from the session, […]
Positive drug test results alone aren’t always enough to prove impairment contributed to a workplace injury or death, as an Aug. 28 court decision proves. A worker who tested positive for a large quantity of marijuana showed no signs of being impaired before a fall that led to his death, so his widow can continue […]
Workforce drug positivity rates hit a 16-year high in 2019, with positive marijuana test rates climbing by double digits across almost all testing categories, according to Quest Diagnostics’ annual Drug Testing Index. Positivity rates in the U.S. workforce increased in urine drug tests to 4.5%, the highest level since 2003, and more than 28% higher […]
A lack of fully documented safety training does not prove inadequate communication of safety rules, according to a July 28 Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission decision. While the commission upheld a judge’s ruling justifying a citation against a company which claimed unforeseeable employee misconduct, the commission found the judge’s interpretation of inadequate communication was […]
An injured worker’s doctor replaced his opioid prescription with medical marijuana. Why did a court rule that the worker can’t be reimbursed for medical weed? John Nobles-Roark suffered a lumbar injury at work. His workers’ comp claim was accepted, and he had surgery for the condition. He was able to return to work, but his […]
A New Jersey employer must reimburse an injured worker for medical marijuana, according to an appeals court decision.
An appeals court recently found a worker who tested positive for marijuana in a post-incident drug test was eligible for workers’ compensation benefits despite the positive test results.
Policy statements from two safety organizations in the space of one week show the high priority of addressing legal marijuana use and safety in the U.S. workforce.
