If your practice is in an area where marijuana is legal, you may think you should just look the other way when staff members are using marijuana in the workplace. But if you adopt this philosophy, you could be setting yourself up for massive liability issues. Why? One federal study found that employees who test positive for marijuana had 55% more industrial accidents, 85% more injuries and 75% greater absenteeism compared to employees who tested negative.
The best way to keep your practice safe is to employ the following eight strategies about marijuana in the workplace.
1. Update Policies, Handbooks
Your employee handbooks, policies and procedures should be updated regularly to reflect your policy about using marijuana on the job, being in possession of it, or being under the influence of it. Depending on the laws in your state, possession is something that may or may not be legal. However, even if pot is legal in your area, that doesn’t mean you’re required to allow staff members to use it at work.
Under OSHA regulations, employers can continue to have drug-free workplace policies and should prohibit the use of or being under the influence of controlled substances while at work. If you adopt a policy like this, spell out what’s allowed and what’s not. If you plan to perform random drug testing, clearly specify what you consider intoxication standards to be for marijuana metabolites, what the penalty is for failing the test, how you intend to perform random testing, and what you consider reasonable suspicion, if applicable.
2. Train Managers
Your managers should be aware of the state laws, policies and procedures, as well as the rules around reasonable suspicion and disability rules. Everyone in the practice absolutely must be on the same page when it comes to the rules and regulations, because your managers can never give the appearance of testing just one group of people or going easily on another group.
Managers should be trained about your practice’s policies and updated throughout the year to ensure they’re up to date on all practice regulations so they remain in compliance.
3. Tighten up Hiring Process
You must decide whether your practice is going to test for marijuana during the hiring process. Once you have this policy in place, follow it to the letter with every employee, without exception. If you are accused of targeting testing only at certain employees, you could have a lawsuit on your hands.
4. Provide Support for Employees With Drug Problems
Whether you’re offering an employee assistance program (EAP) or you have an anonymous line that connects staff members with 12-step programs, you should have some way to help staffers who have dependencies on substances when they want assistance.
5. Establish Rules for Post-Accident Testing
Unless your state prohibits you from testing staff members following accidents, you should create a list of rules about when testing will take place and how it will be accomplished. Also, create a policy about what type of penalty you’ll impose if you do find out that a staff member had an accident while under the influence of marijuana, and follow that policy clearly if such an issue should happen.
6. Get Professional Help
With all of the laws and ongoing changes surrounding the issue of marijuana, it can be challenging to iron it all out by yourself. Your best bet is to connect with a qualified attorney who can help you design your staff marijuana policies and create handbooks to guide your reactions if employees violate your rules.
There’s a tremendous amount of information you must know to protect your practice when it comes to marijuana. Join legal expert Don Phin, Esq., as he walks you through the specifics during his one-hour online training, Protect Against Employee Marijuana Impairment Errors & Lawsuits. Sign up today!
 |
Subscribe to Healthcare Practice Advisor |
| Get actionable advice to help improve your practice’s reimbursement, compliance, and success in this weekly eNewsletter. |
|
|
|