Special report. Drug testing in the workplace: an update

Workplace drug testing has become widespread in the U.S. and is a major component of the nation's "war on drugs." A recent annual survey by the American Management Association shows that the number of workplace drug-testing programs in surveyed companies grew almost 300% between 1987 and 1993. Nearly 85% of the 630 firms responding to the 1993 survey conduct some form of drug testing. Among activities sparking interest in drug testing are some highly publicized catastrophes in which drugs or alcohol played a major role--for example, the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska which raised concern over threats to public safety. While the popularity of drug testing has increased, programs have been criticized at the same time for being inaccurate, costly, invasive of privacy, and even illegal in certain cases. As alternatives to urinalysis and other tests, companies have introduced impairment tests--also called performance tests and "fitness-for-duty" tests--which are computer-based and measure employees' eye-hand coordination or cognitive skills. Tests also have been introduced to detect drug residues on surfaces. In this report, we'll review some recent studies on drug testing and some of the programs currently being conducted.