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Overview

While this webcast is open to all EIA members, some of the Eyres Law Group Services are only available to members of the PWC and/or GL1 programs.

Opioids are a powerful class of drug, including prescription pain relievers, morphine, and heroin, that can result in debilitating addictions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) drug overdose-related deaths are up, with 6 out of 10 of the fatalities involving an opioid. Also, since 1999 the amount of prescription opioids sold in the United States has essentially quadrupled while there has not been a change in the amount of pain being reported.

The CDC has characterized the situation as an epidemic, and this crisis is particularly concerning for employers for a number of reasons. For starters, you have a duty to maintain a working environment that is “free from recognizable hazards … causing or likely to cause death or serious harm to employees” under the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s (OSHA) general duty clause. Consider, too, that if an employee is injured on the job, he or she may be prescribed a powerful opioid to manage the pain. The longer the employee is on that medication, the greater the risk of addiction.

So, what can your organization do to manage workers’ compensation leave to minimize the risk of addiction? Can you send the employee for a fitness for duty before permitting the return to work? If an employee shows up to work impaired, what are the steps you should take enforce your drug-use policy without violating the ADA or other federal laws, such as HIPAA?
 

We will cover:

1. The practical impact opioid usage can have worker productivity and safety, and when you have an obligation to take action under OSHA’s general duty clause
2. What to do if an employee appears impaired on the job
2. Strategies for improving your drug-free workplace policies—and how to align your benefits programs with such policies
3. How to handle confidentiality and electronic recordkeeping issues concerning HIPAA so you don’t spark legal liabilities for your organization  
4. Managing industrial injury claims so workers don’t become addicted or die as a result of taking medication prescribed to manage the pain from their injuries.
5. Tips for communicating with employees about potential drug abuse and evaluating requests for accommodation under the ADA
6. When granting family and medical leave may be required as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.
7.  Warning signs of a potential opioid addiction to be on the lookout for in your workplace
8. Your role as a safety or HR manager in helping addicted workers, including how to use employee assistance plans to help combat opioid addiction in the workplace
9. Best practices to help addicted workers get—and stay—sober. 

Additional Information

• First time users for EIA TV please download the Instruction Guide for instructions on how to register!
• Upon log in, the webcast can be found either through the SPOTLIGHT section of the environment or via the SEARCH tool.
• Questions, please contact Ian Chadwick at ichadwick@csac-eia.org

Need More Info or Help?
We hope you can join us. Feel free to contact Ian Chadwick for more details.

Phone: 916-850-7300
Email: ichadwick@csac-eia.org