EMPLOYER EXHORTS BUSINESSES TO DRUG TEST WORKERS

Practice would enhance productivity, save lives, she says

Last year, a young woman tried to buy a drug-testing kit from Sharon
Cawood at the Porter County Substance Abuse Council.

She told Cawood the company where she was applying for a job screened
candidates, and she wanted to test herself. "She wanted to make sure
the drugs were out of her system," said Cawood, who did not sell the
woman a kit.

The kits are meant for business owners who test their employees, a
practice Cawood said should happen more often.

Kathy DeWitt agrees.

DeWitt, founder of Valparaiso market research firm KLD Research,
began testing her employees years ago, when she became aware of the
area's growing heroin problem.

"We said, 'All right, stop talking about it. Put your money where
your mouth is,'" she said.

The first time she conducted the tests at the office, DeWitt lost
eight of her then 24 employees. Some employees chose not to take the
test, knowing they would fail.

She said after testing began, the number of people who applied
dropped dramatically.

"Once word gets out that you drug test, your applicants change," she said.

What she didn't lose, she said, was productivity in her business,
even after losing a third of her staff. That, she said, is a good
argument for businesses in the area to step up their testing efforts.

Chris White, manager of the Ace Hardware in Valparaiso, said new
hires undergo psychological and aptitude tests, but not one for drugs.

White said they hire a lot of young people. "We have just been
fortunate enough, most of them have a lot of ambition," he said.

Pat Henson, manager of the Portage Schoop's restaurant -- which also
does not test -- said because they hire "by word of mouth," they're
not really at risk for hiring drug users.

"Don't get me wrong, we take plenty of applications all the time,"
Henson said. "But we have been very fortunate.

"This is a drug-free facility, and the people that we hire here would
never take drugs."

Even if that is true, DeWitt cautions businesses that espouse that
viewpoint. "Don't be so naive," she said. She was shocked herself
when she learned about some of her staff's drug abuse.

There are no state or federal laws requiring private business owners
to test their staff, although certain contract-dependent industries,
such as labor and construction, demand it, said Mark Adams, a
Valparaiso University professor who specializes in labor law.

It's at employers' discretion, Cawood said.

Cawood recently sent inquiries to a few big box chains such as
Wal-Mart, Kmart and Home Depot to learn about their drug-testing
policies. Some chains test, and some don't, Cawood said, but she's
hoping to take a closer look at more policies in the near future.

The Times drug-tests new hires.

Some industries long have tested for drug use, including the area's
union-based construction companies.

"Safety is a very important issue in the construction industry," said
Dewey Pearman, executive director of Portage's Construction
Advancement Foundation.

"You have movement of heavy equipment, a lot of materials, people
moving around constantly. It can create a very dangerous work environment."

As such, about 15 years ago, major industries throughout Northwest
Indiana -- including ironworkers, engineers and carpenters -- agreed
to participate in a random drug-testing program that covers all union
contractors working in the region, Pearman said.

The program uses a "comprehensive," 10-panel test that screens for
opiates, including heroin, Pearman said.

"Like most sectors of our society, we have a ways to go to ensure a
drug-free workplace," Pearman said.

But testing should help, even for those companies that do not place
such physical demands on their staff, he said.

"Other businesses would not have the same degree of concern," Pearman
said. "But they still need to be concerned about productivity issues.
A drug-impaired employee is not going to be as productive."

But for some, it's not so simple.

"There's a lot of problems in terms of costs," said VU's Adams.

Some of those costs include just the base cost of testing, as well as
assuring employee privacy and combating false positives, which often
require additional testing, Adams said.

And although his industry long has supported it, Pearman agreed that
constant testing can run up big bills for businesses.

"Does a company really want to put the time and money into it?" Adams asked.

DeWitt says companies should.

"It has less to do with making another dollar and more to do, for us,
with trying to protect people," she said.