We don’t need another Lindsey Lohan story on Star Magazine to point out the ill effects drugs can have on our lives, but when it comes to the workplace; slowed response times, blurry vision, impeded depth perception to name a few of the effects these can have on your body, just think about some of the accidents these can cause when working on a construction site, driving a truck or even the file room office can be an accident waiting to happen.
Most of us realize that drugs and alcohol in the workplace do not work well together. If you are an employer who doesn’t believe that, for everyone’s sake please find another calling. Everything from motor vehicle accidents, heavy equipment operations are the obvious areas of concern, but even some of the less intense jobs can have significant injuries caused by employees working under the influence. Not to mention the poor publicity as most of us aren’t going out of our way to do business in these types of environments.
Workers compensation in Missouri also frowns upon this, for quite obvious reasons. So much that if an employer has proof an employee was on drugs or alcohol when their workplace injury took place, it is possible for Workers compensation benefits to actually be cut in half. That can be huge. This can also be the case for an employee not complying with safety standards implemented in your safety manual. For all of you employers out there this is where you should really pay attention:
As an Insurance Agent, I have learned more than any other job I have ever had that you must have a paper trail for everything. You can say your injured worker was not complying with safety guidelines; but if you don’t have a guideline that you have on file or something indicating that you told the employee this was a guideline then its hard to say they were not complying.
Safety manuals seem tedious and obvious, however they provide proof that you have laid out the ground rules for your employees. Drug free workplace policies do the same thing. Manuals and policies are virtually useless if you do not enforce them though. This is why regular active drug testing and especially post accident drug testing is imperative to provide the proof you need when you suspect this being the reason behind an employees workplace accident.
I would love to provide more detail, but its pretty simple. Set your safety rules and enforce them. This is one of many proactive steps you can take as a business owner to make your workplace as safe as possible and help lower the cost of workers compensation. Despite popular belief, most accidents can be prevented if the proper measures are taken.
When you have a safety conscious culture in your workplace, it is contagious and will spread throughout your employees. Some previous jobs I had utilized incentive plans for accident free days for the company and goals were celebrated. Sometimes a simple BBQ can go a long way when employees know you are concerned about their safety. Some employees relate to the dollar more and fortunately we can provide that perspective as well as many studies can show the direct premium cost accidents and claims can have on a companies workers compensation premium and in turn their bottom line.
Safety and drug free programs can be found through most insurance carriers. OSHA also has a general manual, which can assist you.
If you want to learn more about how Safety and Drug Programs can help reduce your workers compensation rates, feel free to contact us at The Insurance Shop. We can help you locate the appropriate manuals, guidelines, and documented materials for your company.