Auto shop operator makes no exceptions for drug users
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
Bev Harbin at first found it hard to test her employees for drugs, just like a lot of small-business owners in Hawai'i who like to think of their workers as family.
Substance abusers are: • 3 to 4 times more likely to be involved in an on-the-job accident. • 10 times more likely to be absent. • 5 times more likely to file a workers' compensation claim. • 51 percent more likely to file medical claims than non-abusers. • 25 to 30 percent less productive than non-users. • More likely — 47 percent — to leave their job in their first year of employment. • More expensive. Substance abusers average $19,000 per person in additional losses associated with absenteeism, turnover, workers' compensation and medical care. Source: HEMIC
But the more she learned about the toll that drug use can levy on the workplace, the faster Harbin's attitude changed about letting drug-using employees into her auto repair shop for Hondas and Acuras.
A quick look at the odds
"The bad thing is that some of your social drug users are sometimes your best employees," Harbin. "But I found you have to have zero tolerance. Otherwise it can be a walking nightmare."
Now, as the small-business advocate for the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i, Harbin urges other small businesses to drug-test before hiring and again randomly on the job.
The issue has taken on more urgency in the last few months as greater attention has been focused on crystal methamphetamine, the drug more commonly known as ice. And in an age of growing complaints about risking higher healthcare costs, some companies also are turning to drug screening to reduce accidents and lower their insurance costs.
HEMIC, Hawai'i's largest writer of workers' compensation insurance, offers a 6 percent premium credit to companies that adopt approved drug-screening programs, and it has seen anecdotal evidence of fewer accidents.
"Employees who use drugs are less productive," said Bob Dove, HEMIC's chief executive and president. "They miss more work. They're more likely to be injured on the job. They're more likely to injure someone on the job, more likely to be involved in workplace violence. It gets down to the quality of the environment you want for your employees and the reputation of your firm."
But companies can't just start drug screening at will.
They could find themselves vulnerable to lawsuits if they don't follow state labor rules and fairly impose written standards, said Michael Nauyokas, an attorney who specializes in employment and labor law.
"Complying with the law and having written policies might seem like burdens, but companies can get into a lot of problems if they don't," Nauyokas said. "You shouldn't do it halfway."
Harbin learned how to develop a program four years ago through Straub Clinic & Hospital. She adopted a handbook that laid out the program for her auto repair businesses, which included drug screening as a condition of employment and random testing on the job. Any employee involved in an accident also would be tested within three hours.
"If you show positive, there's no excuses and you're out of there," Harbin said.
The Hawaii Employers Council provides advice for small businesses to develop drug testing programs, but only for member firms. Call 836-1511.
HEMIC requires 25 percent of its own staff each year to undergo random testing for drug use.
For help
"When your name is picked, you go," Dove said. "And that applies to me, as well. It's totally random."
The zero tolerance part can be hard for small businesses, Dove said.
"Small businesses, a lot of times, are closer to employees and firing somebody is more of a problem," he said.
But it can be even more difficult to keep employees who test positive and instead put them through a drug rehabilitation program.
"It can be expensive," Dove said. "But it is doable."
The bigger problem comes from ignoring workers who use drugs, Dove said, especially for small businesses.
Nearly all Fortune 200 companies — 98 percent — test for drugs. And so do 65 percent of companies with 500 or more employees.
But only 4 percent of companies with 10 or fewer employees test for drugs.
"If you're using drugs, you can't get into a Fortune 200 company or a company with 500 or more employees," Dove said. "So you're going to end up at small business. It just makes sense then that small businesses will see a disproportionate amount of their applicants be drug abusers — if they don't test."
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.
Correction: The Hawaii Employers Council provides advice to small businesses on developing drug testing programs, but only for member firms. Information accompanying a previous version of this story was incomplete.
