ON-SITE TESTING FOR DRUGS TO START

Employers will be able to use an on-site oral screening kit to test
their employees for drug use, under a new state law that goes into
effect July 1.

The oral fluid drug screens, which are cheaper, faster and more
convenient than urinalysis, were pushed for by the construction
industry, which has been drug-testing its employees since the mid-1980s.

Although the law goes into effect in a couple of weeks, collective
bargaining agreements will have to be amended before companies can
start using these non-FDA-approved tests.

However, since the bill was backed by unions, management and the
state, it is not expected to take long to adjust the contracts. The
law applies to all employees whose contracts allow drug testing, such
as those in the construction industry.

Kyle Chock, executive director of the Pacific Resource Partnership, an
alliance between contractors and the Carpenters Union Local 745, said
the construction industry pushed for the saliva swab tests as a way to
decrease costs and save time while keeping job sites safe.

"Construction is a dangerous job to begin with, and we don't want to
make it more dangerous by having people who are on drugs or alcohol,"
he said.

The cost savings are significant: $15 for a swab test versus $50 to
$60 for a urine test, Chock said.

Contractors generally are working to meet a schedule, so random and
periodic urine tests are rare within the industry because it requires
employees to leave the job site.

This new law allows for the tests to be done on-site in a trailer or
office.

The Hawai'i Carpenters Union was the first in the industry to start
drug-testing employees. Two decades ago, about 30 percent of drug
tests came back positive.

These days, it's about 3 to 5 percent, and most of those are from
people who have been hired pending the results of their drug test,
said Ron Taketa, financial secretary and business representative for
the Hawai'i Carpenters Union.

Those already on the job tend to know, "You cannot use drugs and stay
within the unionized industry any more," Taketa said. "We've gone a
long way of working with our contractors to clean up our industry."

In a saliva test, a cotton swab is rubbed inside the mouth, and
results can be available five minutes later.

By comparison, a urinalysis requires the employee to go to a clinical
lab, and results could take four hours or more.

Taketa said the new tests will have to be worked into collective
bargaining agreements to make sure that no one is penalized for a
false-positive saliva screen, meaning that no action will be taken
unless a urinalysis confirms the results.

The state Department of Health had some reservations about the new
tests, but Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona noted that the results wouldn't
be used to demonstrate civil or criminal liability.

"This is something that I think is going to be a great asset for
employers, especially in the construction industry where public safety
is a huge factor," said Aiona, who signed the measure into law last
week while Gov. Linda Lingle was in Indonesia.