OSHA Clarifies Position on Employer Safety Incentive Programs & Post-Incident Drug Testing

OSHA recently released a memorandum to its regional administrators to clear up confusion about its 2016 recordkeeping rule changes concerning employer safety incentive programs and post-incident drug testing. The bottom line is that employers are still permitted to implement safety incentive programs and require post-incident drug testing, provided that the actions are taken to promote workplace safety and health and not to penalize employees for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses. The memorandum suggests that consistently enforcing legitimate work rules, whether or not an injury or illness is reported, would be one way for employers to show that their companies are promoting workplace safety and health. The memorandum also states that drug testing to evaluate the root causes of workplace incidents is permissible, but affected employers should drug test every employee whose conduct could have contributed to the incident.

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