Corporate Safety Departments

The role of a corporate safety department includes ensuring that each employee’s concerns about their health and safety are recognized, that they assist in health and safety assessments, inspect the workplace for any potential hazards, etc. As they play such a large role in an employee’s work life, it is important that they perform drug tests on them, both when they begin their employment with the company and throughout their time at the company.

The industries in which employee drug testing is the most common in is sports, construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and aviation. This, however, doesn’t mean that just because a business isn’t within these industries that it shouldn’t test their employees for alcohol and/or drug consumption. If you’re working with a corporate business that works with sensitive information (such as data or finance), you will want to make sure that your fellow employees are keeping this information private and that they are handling it correctly. If any of this information gets out, it could be incredibly damaging for both the business’s reputation and for the employee themselves.

If they don’t test them, not only are they ignoring the issue that is at hand which could result in not only the employee’s performance decreasing but also the safety of the employee and others in the workplace. The federal laws regarding testing vary by state, but in order to stay compliant with the laws and with the drug-free workplace regulations determined by SAMHSA, it’s important that corporate safety departments reinforce the importance of their employees taking part in a drugs test.

Even though the employee’s health and safety is a priority, it’s also important to think about the cost implication of an employee that isn’t drug-free. They could easily damage expensive equipment if they aren’t sober, mishandled documents and might even take long periods of time off work, resulting in the company having to pay for a temporary or permanent replacement that’s most fit for the task at hand.

If the drug tests come back positive, it’s important that the corporate safety department takes action as soon as possible – for example, firing the employee who is under the influence. As the department’s responsibility is the health of the employees, they want to make sure that they are putting out a positive message to them and showing what will happen if they aren’t drug-free.

It’s important to protect both the company and the individual when you are working within a corporate safety department and through drug tests, you can do exactly that. In order to give a clear indication of the employee’s performance and health, conduct a pre-employment drug test and random drug tests throughout the year. It might seem daunting, but to ensure that the business is operating to the best of its ability, it’s an essential process. Plus, it will ensure that you are legally compliant and not ignoring a clear issue within the workplace that needs to be fixed as soon as possible.

Why Corporate Safety Departments Should Do Drug Tests