Workers Overdose on the Job, and Employers Struggle to Respond

A 2017 survey by the National Safety Council estimated that 70 percent of employers reported their businesses had been affected by prescription drug abuse among workers, reports the New York Times . Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found a minimum of 217 workers died from an unintentional drug or alcohol overdose while at work in 2016, up 32 percent from 2015. Workplace overdose deaths have been rising at least 25 percent annually since 2010, not counting the overdoses that do not end in death or accidents caused primarily or partly by drug impairment. Unfortunately, many employers ignore addiction within their workforce, or are poorly equipped or unwilling to address the issue. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined construction workers had the highest numbers of heroin- and methadone-related overdose deaths from 2007 to 2012, and many workers become addicts when they take a prescription intended to help get them back to work after an injury. Theoretically, employers are uniquely positioned to confront opioid misuse via random testing and spotting erratic behavior or absenteeism, and they could amend their health insurance policies to limit opioid prescriptions to five days and waive deductibles for addiction treatment.