Industry presents new front in war on drugs

By Kevin La Mere

What factors do you deem most important when considering a contractor for your construction project?

Certainly, you look at reputation, quality of work, efficiency and, most definitely, cost. But do you consider safety and how safety truly affects all the other factors?

Workplace safety is a concern for all those in the construction industry, but, until recently, a tool to substantially curb worker injuries and senseless accidents was often missing. That tool — substance-abuse testing programs — recently became a requirement under a new law affecting all public works
projects.

For the last few years, the Wisconsin Pipe Trades Association and the Mechanical Contractors Association of Wisconsin worked diligently with lawmakers to pass Act 181, a law that will ensure safer public construction sites by implementing substance-abuse testing programs on all public works projects.

Gov. Jim Doyle, alongside representatives of the WPTA, the MCAW and others in the construction industry, recently signed this landmark safety act. Act 181, introduced by state Rep. Jeff Stone, R-Greendale, and state Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, was modeled after language the state uses as a recommendation for testing on state projects.

In short, any contractor bidding on a public works project will need to have a substance-abuse testing program that meets certain minimum criteria. The law permits flexibility in employer programs, but it requires that employees be subject to random, reasonable-suspicion, post-accident and pre-job drug and alcohol testing.

Requirements exist for notifying employees if they test positive and when employees will be allowed to return to work following a positive test. Consortium testing will be encouraged to save on cost.

The law does not take effect until May, but as president of the WPTA and a participant in an already successful program, I urge the construction industry to act now.

It’s no secret that construction is a high-risk industry. It’s also no secret that workers under the influence of drugs or alcohol are not only a danger to themselves but to all other workers on a construction site.

For this reason, the WPTA started testing for substance abuse more than six years ago. However, workers currently subject to drug testing are not protected when exposed to workers who are not required to undergo testing — a primary reason the WPTA promoted this law.

Despite the obvious safety benefits, studies show that drug testing, along with responsible safety practices, help construction companies slash work-related injuries and workers’ compensation costs and claims by as much as 51 percent. Those studies also show that substance abusers incur nearly 300 percent more medical costs than nonusers. Requiring drug testing will also reduce health insurance costs for employers.

Substance-abuse testing is the proper enforcement mechanism to ensure that Wisconsin’s public-sector projects are drug-free. These testing programs are a huge deterrent to drug use, and a standardized program will help address the growing problem of substance abuse on construction sites.

Act 181 was the result of years of hard work and a commitment by Wisconsin lawmakers to reduce construction accidents and maintain integrity in the construction industry. Lawmakers of both major political parties supported this law, and there was no opposition during the public hearing process.

Enactment of this law is another good example of labor and management working together for the safety of our construction industry. The safety of our members and the public is critical to a successful construction project.

Since the inception of the WPTA testing program, our goal has been to achieve a drug-free workplace. This law will go a long way toward making that a reality.