| In real estate, the old saying is “location, location, location.” To some extent, that holds true for drug testing. Some states have very restrictive laws that make it difficult to sell drug testing. In other states, however, there are laws that not only support drug testing but actually encourage it, which makes selling drug testing easier.
Following are five states you may want to consider marketing in as you formulate your business plan for the second half of 2008.
Florida
Florida offers companies that meet certain drug testing requirements a 5% discount on workers’ compensation premiums. For some companies, that’s enough to almost pay for the drug testing. Required testing includes pre-employment, reasonable suspicion and post-accident testing. You must also use a Florida licensed laboratory, and an MRO must review all test results. What also makes Florida a great state for drug testing is the fact that there are virtually no restrictions on drug testing.
Georgia
Georgia’s workers’ compensation discount for qualifying companies is 7.5%. Additionally, employers are permitted to use on-site, point of care testing (POCT), including urine and oral fluid devices. Like Florida, there are virtually no restrictions on drug testing in Georgia. Other states that offer workers’ compensation premium discounts include: Alabama (5%), Arkansas (5%), Idaho (5%), Mississippi (5%), Ohio (10-20%), South Carolina (5%), Tennessee (5%), Kentucky (mining companies only), and Virginia (determined by insurance provider).
Pennsylvania
The Keystone State has been a long-time advocate of workplace drug testing. There is no law that actually regulates drug testing, and case law has been very favorable to the employers’ right to conduct drug testing. Both lab-based and on-site testing is permitted.
North Carolina
Drug test cheaters don’t get a free pass in North Carolina, which was one of the first states to pass a law making it illegal to attempt to “foil or defeat a drug or alcohol screening test.” It’s also illegal to help another person cheat on a drug test. Additionally, the state permits the use of POCT devices for pre-employment screening, requiring that positive results be confirmed. Urine, blood, hair, and oral fluid testing are all permitted.
Texas
The Lone Star State not only permits all types of drug testing, lab-based and POCT, but like North Carolina, it outlaws drug test cheating. It also is one of several states that does not hold insurance carriers liable for workers’ compensation payments if the worker was injured while in a state of intoxication, and a positive blood or urine drug or alcohol test can be used to prove intoxication.
There are only a handful of states that, by case law or statutory law, make drug testing difficult. So, to increase the success of your sales efforts, target states like these that actually encourage employers to conduct drug testing. |
