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The ease of access to opioid drugs in the United States has led to a 15.1 percent of construction workers who have engaged in illicit drug use, which is second only to the foodservice industry, says Jake Morin, niche president of construction at ProSight Specialty Insurance. The opioid crisis recently was declared a national public health emergency after new data showed that the drug takes nearly 100 lives each day in this country. The construction industry has been hit hard after many workers were prescribed opioid pain medication as a way to ease pain.
“The opioid epidemic impacts construction particularly hard because the industry still hasn’t recovered from the vacuum of skilled labor that left the industry in the wake of the housing crisis and subsequent economic recession," Morin says. "Combine this with the fact that recovery for most construction-site injuries require pain management, it becomes slightly more difficult for companies who want to hire experienced workers while being mindful of their medical conditions.
"Construction companies and general contractors can improve the level of experience on their workforce by deploying thorough drug tests when bringing on a new candidate. Thorough testing will take a person’s medical history and current condition into account when reporting the results. With opioids being so prevalent in the construction industry, this can help give context to a person’s situation so a construction owner can make the decisions that are best for the project and the company.”
