Workplace anti-drug policies or programs can take several forms with occasionally conflicting objectives. The most intrusive and emotionally charged policy/program for workers is a drug testing program that can be delivered in two environments: preemployment screening (i.e., urine screen all job applicants) and postemployment surveillance (i.e., urine screen existing employees on a random, comprehensive, or “for cause” basis) (Lange, et al., 1994). Drug testing programs can be very expensive for a company and their effectiveness in mitigating employee drug use is often uncertain (Normand, Lempert, and O’Brien, 1994). This paper examines the relationship between worksite-based drug testing programs and employee drug use. Specifically, a key research question is whether the presence of a drug testing program negatively influences the probability of drug use by existing employees. Using data from a special supplement to the 1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse we use the bivariate probit technique to estimate the relationships between employee drug use and firms’ decision to operate a drug testing program. The drug use measures include any drug use and chronic drug use. The drug testing measures include any, preemployment, random, and for cause. The results indicate that all types of drug testing programs have a negative and significant effect on employee drug use, but the effect is much stronger for casual drug users relative to chronic drug users. These findings suggests that employers should re-examine the costs, objectives, and impact of their workplace substance abuse programs to determine whether they are achieving desirable goals.
Learning Objectives: Participants will learn about statistical techniques to examine the effect of drug testing programs and the impact of various programs among a nationally representative sample of households.
Keywords: Drug Test, Workforce
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