Developing an effective drug and alcohol policy should be an integral part of every company’s safety plans and procedures for 2022. Your policy should provide a framework for how all employees handle drug & alcohol usage in the workplace. Additionally, a practical approach to testing limits a company’s risk while contributing to the overall safety goals of the company.
A successful and effective policy clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of the employees and managers. You should dedicate a point of contact for your company for policy violations and emergencies. This point of contact usually works in a Human Resources role or has similar duties. Once this role is assigned, add the contact information to the Drug and Alcohol Policy documents. When your rules and regulations addressing drug and alcohol use at work are final, post them somewhere highly trafficked and visible. Posting this framework publicly limits your company’s risk when distributing an updated policy and can be a place of information if an employee is curious about certain rules.
Be sure to stay compliant with changing regulations. As more states legalize medical marijuana it’s very difficult for smaller companies to stay compliant with the regulations. Many states have legalized medicinal marijuana, and a few allow for legal recreational usage. These new laws can make developing an encompassing policy difficult while staying compliant with medical regulations. Also, one unique workplace behavior since the pandemic has been an increase in remote work with employees possibly living in different states. In order to stay compliant with unique laws in each state, your policy may have to vary by state or establish clear regulations that abide by each state’s particular laws.
Finally, it is important to find an effective drug and alcohol, testing partner. Staying compliant with changing regulations doesn’t have to be a pain. At ARCpoint Labs, we have partnered with companies as their industry expert for policy development and consultation. We are ready to help your company collect and test samples whenever necessary. Contact us today to learn how we can be your partner.
By Annmarie Dallao | ARCpoint Labs of Reading | 484-926-2505
