The American Civil Liberties Union is urging the U.S. Government and corporate America to end workplace drug testing, citing high costs and low dividends according to a 27-page report published by the group this week.
The ACLU is sending the report to CEOs, union officials, and human resources professionals urging them to end drug testing as a condition of employment.
The report examines 10 years of research and empirical evidence on drug use among workers relating to the impact on performance and effectiveness in identifying workplace abuse.
The ACLU report concluded:
- Based on the federal government’s drug testing program, it costs $77,000 to identify one drug user.
- Lost productivity studies claiming that drug users cost up to $100 billion each year are based on vague comparisons of household drug use and income, with no analysis of actual productivity data.
- A recent survey of 63 Silicon Valley companies found that drug- testing reduces, rather than enhances worker productivity.
- The moderate use of illicit drugs by workers during off-duty hours is no more likely than moderate off-duty alcohol use to compromise worker safety.
“We have always believed drug testing of unimpaired workers stands the presumption of innocence on its head and violates the most fundamental privacy rights,” said Ira Glasser, ACLU Executive Director. “Now we know that sacrificing these rights serves no legitimate business purpose either.”
For more information, please contact Amy Weil or Emily Whitfield of the ACLU at (212) 549-2666. To view the report: http://www.aclu.org/features/f090199a.html