PASS OR FAIL?

The days of just sending out a resume, having an interview and starting a
new job are fading. For many, there's another requirement: passing a drug
test.

These days, you'll likely face one if you apply for work, especially at a
big company or a government agency.

For example, about 4,800 Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. employees had to pass
pre-employment drug tests. So did 400 Savannah Morning News employees.

Many employers test workers randomly and after workplace accidents. They
also test after worker behavior triggers suspicion that they're using
illegal substances.

It's all part of a national trend that has drawn complaints about invasion
of privacy, a concern that most employers think is trumped by the promise of
safer, more productive workplaces.

The trend dates to 1986, when President Ronald Reagan ordered federal
agencies to urine test employees. Since then, more and more private and
public institutions have used some form of drug testing. Last year, more
than 60 percent of major American companies did so, the American Management
Society reported.

Widespread testing has been a boon to companies such as Health Awareness
Enterprises, which collects specimens for drug testing. The Garden City firm
has seen its business grow exponentially in the last 10 years, manager Jim
Connett said. Though the lab is doing more testing, fewer tests are coming
back positive, he said.

How They Do It:

Most companies use urinalysis, but use of hair samples is increasing,
Connett said. While some businesses, such as Kennickell Print and
Communications, test employees on-site, most send workers to companies such
as Health Awareness Enterprises to have urine, hair or blood collected and
tested.

Tests typically target marijuana, PCP, amphetamines, opiates and cocaine,
said Dr. Robert Balsley, who has practiced occupational medicine for the
past 15 years. Some employers, such as Memorial Health University Medical
Center, also require applicants to consent to testing for barbiturates,
methadone, methaqualone, benzodiazepines, propoxyphene and phencyclidine.

Although it's more expensive, testing hair rather than urine can detect
illegal substances much longer after they're used.

That's one reason why every applicant at the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort
must pass a hair test for amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine and marijuana,
said Eric Witcher, human resources director.

"If you do cocaine Friday, by Monday it has leached out of your system, and
there is no residue" in urine, Witcher said. "However, it's still recorded
in your hair. It's kind of like rings on a tree. There's more opportunity to
see what a person's trend of living is like."

Employer curiosity about a person's "trend of living" worries some workers
and groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union. And other problems
with testing hair make urinalysis a safer bet, Balsley said.

Examples: Cocaine shows up in higher concentrations in female than in male
hair and darker hair than in light hair. And, of course, someone with no
hair can't be tested.

Also, people with long hair who test positive and complete treatment
programs still could fail two months later even if they're clean. That's not
fair, Balsley said.

"It's a lawsuit waiting to happen," he said. "It's just not as clean as
doing urinalysis."

Drugs Don't Work:

Though productivity and safety are the main reasons employers say they drug
test workers, Georgia offers another powerful incentive: money.

Eight years ago, Georgia began a program called Drugs Don't Work. Companies
that participate get a 7.5 percent discount on their workers' compensation
insurance premiums.

To get a workers' compensation insurance discount, a business must:

* Have a substance abuse policy.

* Conduct drug tests.

* Complete two hours of employee education each year.

* Complete two hours of supervisor training a year.

* Have an employee assistance program for drug problems or maintain a list
of counseling centers workers can use.

In Savannah, only 72 of 2,000 businesses that belong to the Chamber of
Commerce participate in the program. Statewide, 3,333 companies are
certified, according to the Department of Labor. Many other companies may
drug test without meeting state requirements to get an insurance reduction.

"As more companies find out about the reduction in their liability rates for
becoming a drug-free workplace, it's a good motivation to participate,"
Connett said.

Drug testing must be done before a person is hired, after accidents, on
reasonable suspicion and post-treatment if applicable. Random drug testing
isn't required, but many participating companies do it anyway.

But is the program ethical?

"It's a strange thing to me, insurance companies imposing a policy by
offering a discount," said Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the
Atlanta ACLU. "It's certainly questionable whether drug testing would reduce
workplace accidents. There are better ways to test whether someone can
operate safely."

Chuck Wade, who runs the Drugs Don't Work program through the Georgia
Chamber of Commerce, doesn't think businesses should drug test employees
just to get the insurance discount. He says they should do it to stop this
country from going the way of the Roman Empire -- destruction from within.

"But if you will not do it for love of country, please do it to save money,"
Wade urged business owners at a recent chamber meeting in Savannah.

Studies show that 77 percent of drug users are employed, Wade said, and
denying them jobs is the best way to attack the drug problem. Drug testing
also increases productivity, slashes medical costs by 300 percent, boosts
morale, and curbs theft, tardiness and absenteeism, Wade said.

Al Kennickell, who owns Kennickell Print and Communications, also told
chamber members how testing his 100 employees has helped his business. The
workers' compensation discount saves him money on insurance premiums, he
said, and drug-free workers are better workers.

"We learned the hard way that if people have a drug problem, they also
typically have a cash problem," Kennickell said. "People will steal from
you, arrange to work overtime and even create work to work overtime. It
drives everything they do."

The Cost of Testing:

But the ACLU argues that the costs of drug testing are too high. In its 1999
report "Drug Testing: A Bad Investment," the ACLU challenges studies that
claim drug users costs businesses billions of dollars.

It actually costs a company $77,000 to find one drug user, the ACLU
reported, and someone who uses drugs moderately on his own time is no less
productive than someone who drinks alcohol moderately after work.

Area employers who drug test say the cost of drug testing is worth it. The
actual test usually costs $20 to $40.

"We think it pays for itself in the long run, with our safety record and
insurance premiums," Westin's Witcher said. "We only had one time where we
lost time for an accident last year, and it was only a couple of days."

The Westin spends $35 each to test its 250 or so applicants a year, he said,
at a cost of nearly $9,000.

Ray Gaster, owner of Gaster Lumber and Hardware, said he spends about $1,500
a year to test 90 employees. But that saves him almost $4,000 because of the
workers' compensation discount. He thinks drug-free workers are more
productive.

"Drug testing is a must for any business person," Gaster said. "Some people
tell me if they drug test they won't get any employees. I say, 'OK, if you
want a bunch of potheads working for you, that's what you're going to get.'
"

No definitive studies have weighed the cost of drug testing against improved
productivity, said Leslie Hough, executive director of the W.J. Usery Center
for the Workplace at Georgia State University, which studies workplace
issues. But many managers who notice a dropoff in productivity are quick to
point to drug use as the cause, Hough said.

"There are strong advocates of drug testing who posit it's worth it whatever
it costs, but I'm not aware of statistical information either way for that
conclusion," Hough said. "I think generally drug testing is almost an
ideological issue, with widely divergent attitudes toward it."

In some respects, drug testing could cost businesses money, Hough said.

"There are significant indications that the disadvantages to employee morale
might outweigh the advantages of a drug-testing regime in cases where public
safety is not paramount," Hough said. "It also makes it more difficult to
recruit. Many workers are off-put, whether drug users or not, by a
drug-testing regime, so recruitment and retention may be impaired."

Though most businesses absorb the costs of drug testing, those that make
employees pay for them also could have trouble attracting and retaining
workers, Hough said. And some workers might avoid companies they think
invade privacy.

Privacy Rights:

The ACLU opposes drug testing as a violation of the U.S. Constitution's
Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches.

"As politicians fight a war on drugs, we as a nation are willing to do
almost anything to protect ourselves from the big picture of drug use -- a
picture that's probably wildly exaggerated," Seagraves said. "Drug testing
is invasive, unethical, immoral and unconstitutional."

Some local businesses support their employees' right to privacy.

"I think that's a personal choice if someone wants to do drugs, as long as
it doesn't interfere with their work," said Jerry Duke, who owns printing
company Jade Business Forms. "I think drug testing is an invasion of
privacy."

Also, many tests enable employers to find out a lot more about applicants
than whether they're on drugs, such as whether they're pregnant or whether
they smoke, Balsley said. A person taking Ritalin for Attention Deficit
Disorder might test positive for amphetamines, he said -- not necessarily
something you want to share with a potential employer.

"It should all be kept confidential, but you have to be careful," Balsley
said. "Whether someone is taking medication is their business and their
doctor's. The employer needs to watch out how they do those screens."

But Wade doesn't think workers have any civil rights in the workplace, he
said.

"I hear folks moaning and groaning all the time about their civil rights --
'You violated my right to privacy,' " he said. "Well, what about my rights?
Don't I have the right to work in a safe, drug-free environment?"

But Seagraves says the two aren't mutually exclusive.

"We live in a country with freedom and it's always a balancing act -- how
much of your freedom are you willing to give up to feel safe?" she said. "Is
it always someone else's freedom you're willing to give up? Blanket drug
testing is a poor way to determine someone's ability to work."

Kennickell, however, says it is the best way, and he has no concern for his
employees' right to privacy in regards to drug testing.

"Business is business -- I don't need to handicap myself with people who are
a danger to themselves or others," he said. "I'm not the least concerned
about their rights. I'm paying them money and they have the right not to
work here."

The Law:

Kennickell runs a private company and can set his own drug-testing policy.
But there are some laws that govern who must be drug tested, how and when.

The U.S. Department of Transportation requires 8 million transportation
workers with safety sensitive jobs to be tested for drugs and alcohol. Last
year, 0.3 percent of DOT employees randomly tested were positive. That's 22
out of 7,833 employees, the agency reported.

Many whose jobs fall under those requirements say they understand the need
for drug testing and don't mind it because they don't use drugs.

Jerry Nesmith has been driving trucks for four and a half years, and he has
been drug tested three times.

"It doesn't bother me; I pretty much expect it," Nesmith said. "They have to
make sure you're clean before you get behind the wheel to cover the
company's butt if you get in an accident."

The Savannah Airport Commission tests many of its employees under Federal
Aviation Administration guidelines, said Dan Coe, assistant executive
director.

"The airport is always looking at the most innovative ways to increase
safety to the flying public," Coe said. "Everything we do centers around
safety and security, and our employees come to work trained to think that
way."

Though the Savannah police and firefighters are exempt from federal
drug-testing laws, they're still tested randomly because they asked to be,
said Chris Wilburn, coordinator of the city's Employee Assistance Program.

Most other city employees also don't fall under federal drug-testing
requirements, but they're tested anyway. All employees have to pass a
pre-employment drug test. Anyone thought to be under the influence of drugs
or alcohol can be tested under reasonable cause testing.

The city does five to 10 of these a year, Wilburn said. Most turn out to be
alcohol-related problems.

City employees in safety-sensitive jobs also are tested randomly. Last year,
the city did about 700 of those tests, at a cost of around $14,000, Wilburn
said. That was up from 1999, when the city did 570 random drug tests, 21 of
which were positive. Because the city is self-insured, there is no workers'
compensation discount.

Most city employees accept being drug tested as part of life, Wilburn said.

"Who's going to tell you they like being drug tested?" he said. "But it's a
necessary evil."

At least some city employees don't object.

Michelle Brown has worked for the city for almost three years and had to get
a drug test before she was hired. Her job isn't safety sensitive -- it
involves data entry.

"It wasn't bad," Brown said of the test. "The nurse stood outside the door,
so I was in the bathroom by myself. I just couldn't wash my hands until
after I got out."

But employees in other cities have resisted. In Seattle last year, eight
people sued to stop drug testing for all municipal employees. In October,
the Washington Court of Appeals ruled the city's random urine testing was an
unjustified invasion of personal privacy, since it was not tailored to meet
safety needs.

ACLU Atlanta staff attorney Robert Tsai said he thinks Savannah city
employees might have grounds to file a similar challenge.

"The government can only drug test where there is significant risk of
danger, like if you're driving a school bus or operating a crane," Tsai
said. "In general, people enjoy protection from searches and seizures in the
absence of evidence they have committed some wrong. With blanket or random
drug testing, that's the antithesis of having specific information."

Each business must decide for itself whether the cost -- actual and
potential -- of testing employees is worth it.

"My approach is that drug testing should be driven by the requirements of
the job," Hough said. "Drug abuse is a rather common situation in this
society, but it certainly isn't the cause of all low productivity or other
problems in the workplace."

Who Does It:

Major Savannah-area employers that drug-test employees:

* Memorial Health University Medical Center: 3,500 employees

* St. Joseph's Candler Health System's: 3,600 employees

* The city of Savannah: 2,000 employees

* Savannah Airport Commission: 105 workers