Substance abuse — Department of Health and Human Services

Employees who come to work under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol are always a concern for employers and those directly responsible safety in the workplace. This is especially true if those workers operate any kind of equipment. While OSHA does not have a regulation directly addressing substance abuse at work, it does rely on the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act which states that every employer is responsible to maintain a safe work environment for all employees.

Citations for violation of the General Duty Clause are issued to employers when the four components of this provision are present, and when there is no specific OSHA standard to address the recognized hazard. Those components are:

1. The employer failed to keep its workplace free of a "hazard;"
2. The hazard was "recognized" either by the cited employer individually or by the employer's industry generally;
3. The recognized hazard was causing or was likely to cause death or serious physical harm; and
4. There was a feasible means available that would eliminate or materially reduce the hazard. An employer's duty will arise only when all four elements are present.

OSHA has stated that it strongly supports measures that contribute to a drug-free environment and reasonable programs of drug testing within a comprehensive workplace program for certain workplace environments, such as those involving safety-sensitive duties like operating machinery. Such programs, however, need to also take into consideration employee rights to privacy.