Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Labor is trying to help workplaces prepare for opioid-related overdoses in the workplace, according to a news release issued Thursday.
- DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration released a fact sheet Thursday that “provides practical information that focuses on empowering workplaces to recognize the signs of an overdose and act immediately.”
- The guidance comes as employers grapple with drug use among employees, with some reports showing nearly 20% of workers use some kind of substance.
Dive Insight:
OSHA’s new guidance is part of the Great American Recovery Initiative, an effort by the Trump Administration focused on addiction treatment and recovery.
“Because fentanyl has infiltrated the illicit drug landscape and acts as a chemical weapon against our people, it is critically important that the American workforce is familiar with drug overdose recognition and reversal,” White House Drug Czar Sara Carter said in a statement. “I am grateful to the Department of Labor for informing employers and workers about life-saving overdose reversal treatments like naloxone.”
The fact sheet offers some preparedness strategies, including keeping reversal medications – such as naloxone or nalmefene – on hand; treating overdose kits like first aid by keeping them in visible and accessible locations; educating workers to identify overdose symptoms; and training workers to administer the medication safely.
Nearly 1 in 5 workers tested positive for drug use from hair analysis in 2025, according to a July report from clinical laboratory Quest Diagnostics, which used its U.S. workforce data and included hair and urine tests for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and methamphetamine. Among those tested, opiate use was highest among healthcare workers, Quest found.
Companies, too, need to know how to handle the aftermath of a worker’s opioid use, lawsuits have shown.
Previously, a software company paid $80,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission disability discrimination lawsuit after allegedly firing an employee who took leave for inpatient treatment for substance abuse. The worker had a history of opiate addiction and participated in a doctor-supervised medication-assisted treatment, EEOC said. He was fired because he was regarded as disabled, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, per EEOC.
