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WorkersCompensation.com recently reported disturbing numbers for "unintentional overdoses from nonmedical use of drugs." There are a a large volume of such deaths in America generally, more on that recently in The Time has Come the Time is Now (April 2021). Overdose death is not indigenous or isolated to the workplace by any means, but overdose is occurring in the American workplace. That may be related to increased availability and incredible danger of Fentanyl, see Fentanyl is Killing - Still (November 2021)
Notably, the government has concluded that only about 40% of overdose death involves prescription medication. It is certainly possible to misuse or mistake prescription drugs. There are many who rush to assure that marijuana is a drug that does not implicate such risks, but that is refuted by the American Addiction Centers. It contends that hundreds die each year from drug use that may involve a variety of combinations and circumstances, but which are characterized by the government as implicating pot.
Certainly, according to the story noted at the outset, the volume of Americans dying of overdose is sobering and serious. The volume has been of concern for years, and it is rising. But, it is notable that "unintentional overdoses . . . accounted for 388 workplace deaths in 2020." Following the national trend in overdose death generally, "the number of fatal workplace overdoses increased in each of the last 8 years." In short, there are too many, and the volume is increasing.
It may seem to some that 388 is a relatively low number amongst the millions of people out there in the workplace daily (Statista says it is about 160 million). But, the WorkersCompensation.com story notes that these are included in the "broader event category," which is labelled "exposure to harmful substances." Notably, the overdose deaths in the workplace represent a staggering 57.7 percent of the deaths in that exposure category. Overall, workplace fatalities are recently decreasing, which is positive tribute to safer workplaces, modern medicine, and likely workers' compensation. But, not overdose. Overdose in the workplace is increasing, just as it is in our society.
Intertwined with this interesting upward trend is a disinclination of employers to perform drug testing. The tight labor market, according to the marijuana advocates, is driving employers to abandon any concerns of drug use in the hiring process. Norml (sic) reported results of a large survey concluding "Nine percent of respondents acknowledged that they had “eliminated job screenings or drug tests” as a way to either attract or keep their employees." Economic pressures are thus purportedly changing behavior in the hiring process and making the workplace more accessible to those who use recreational drugs.
That means only that a worker may be hired despite ongoing drug use and even habit(s). That does not mean that employee may not find her/his workers' compensation claim denied following a post-injury drug test. The same economic demands and foci that might lead a company to eschew pre-employment testing might nonetheless similarly lead it to post-accident testing and an effort to avoid the expense that accompanies accident, injury, and disability. See Federal Law Matters in Colorado (June 2015) Federal Law Matters in Maine (June 2018). Stated simply, the pot debate is complicated, see Decriminalizing Pot (May 2021).
One legislator is seeking to impose a statutory drug use deterrent. A bill introduced in the Virginia Assembly for 2022 would mandate post-accident drug testing, according to WorkCompCentral. The testing would be specifically for "non-prescribed controlled substances." While it is possible to get a prescription for products that include Fentanyl, it is also a street drug. Similarly, while it is possible to get a "recommendation" for pot, it is not prescribed and is certainly a controlled substance, see Medical Marijuana (January 2015).
This all illustrates again some disconnect in American Society. There are populations that engage in the use of recreational drugs. The labor market seems willing to accept them and to ignore the potential drug use in which each might potentially engage. There can be debate regarding the extent to which a particular workers' use equates to either impairment or a threat to the safety of that worker or those surrounding the worker. These are undoubtedly difficult questions.
There is also the unsettling fact that drug overdoses are increasing in this country. Unfortunately, that data now demonstrates that increase is also being perceived in the sub-category of workplace death. It seems beyond question that drugs can be dangerous and even deadly, that drug death is too prevalent, and that the upward trends are undoubtedly bad news. What is left is the question of what workers, employers, regulators, and legislators can do to acknowledge and reverse the trends.
By Judge David Langham
Courtesy of Florida Workers' Comp
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About The Author
About The Author
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Judge David Langham
David Langham is the Deputy Chief Judge of Compensation Claims for the Florida Office of Judges of Compensation Claims at the Division of Administrative Hearings. He has been involved in workers’ compensation for over 25 years as an attorney, an adjudicator, and administrator. He has delivered hundreds of professional lectures, published numerous articles on workers’ compensation in a variety of publications, and is a frequent blogger on Florida Workers’ Compensation Adjudication. David is a founding director of the National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary and the Professional Mediation Institute, and is involved in the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators (SAWCA) and the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC). He is a vocal advocate of leveraging technology and modernizing the dispute resolution processes of workers’ compensation.
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