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Dive brief:
- The US Department of Labor is trying to help workplaces prepare opioid-related overdoses at the workplace, according to a press release issued Thursday.
- The DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration released a fact sheet Thursday that “offers practical information that focuses on empowering workplaces to recognize the signs of an overdose and act immediately.”
- The guidance comes as employers grapple with drug use among employees, with some reports showing that nearly 20 percent of workers use some type of substance.
Diving knowledge:
OSHA’s new guidance is part of the Great American Recovery Initiativea Trump Administration effort focused on addiction treatment and recovery.
“As fentanyl has infiltrated the illicit drug landscape and acts as a chemical weapon against our people, it is critical that the American workforce be familiar with recognizing and reversing drug overdoses,” White House Drug Czar Sara Carter said in a statement. “I am grateful to the Department of Labor for informing employers and workers about life-saving overdose reversal treatments like naloxone.”
The fact sheet offers some preparedness strategies, including having reversal medications such as naloxone or nalmefene on hand; treating overdose kits as first aid by keeping them in visible and accessible places; educate workers to identify overdose symptoms; and train workers to administer the drug safely.
Almost 1 in 5 workers tested positive for drug use of hair analysis by 2025, according to a July report from clinical laboratory Quest Diagnostics, which used data from its US workforce and included hair and urine tests for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and methamphetamine. Among those tested, opioid use was highest among healthcare workers, Quest found.
Companies also need to know how to manage the consequences of a worker’s opioid use, the lawsuits have shown.
A software company previously paid $80,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after allegedly fire an employee who was fired for inpatient substance abuse treatment. The worker had a history of opiate addiction and participated in physician-supervised medication-assisted treatment, the EEOC said. He was fired because he was considered disabled, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, by EEOC.
