Opioid Addiction at Work Major Challenge for Employers

The U.S. opioid addiction crisis is hitting the workplace hard, and employers should be ready to address it, practitioners say.

Some 4.3 million people say they’re using prescription painkillers non-medically, and drug overdose is the leading cause of “injury death” in the U.S., attorney James Reidy notes, citing Department of Health and Human Services data. That’s ahead of motor vehicles or firearms, the management-side labor and employment attorney in the Manchester, N.H., office of Sheehan Phinney said.

Widespread opioid abuse costs employers approximately $12 billion annually, with roughly 10 percent to 12 percent of American workers under the influence of ...