Pissing Contest: Assessing the Historic Impacts of Widespread Drug Testing on American Workers

Jeremy will discuss the historic impact of workplace drug testing on American workers. A relatively rare practice before the 1980s, employers began subjecting great numbers of employees to the practice with vocal and legislative encouragement from the Reagan Administration, particularly Executive Order 12564. The order, issued September 15, 1986, required all executive branch agencies to formulate plans for drug-free workplaces that featured drug testing. Drug testing was a meaningful change in the employment relationship that produced strongly negative impacts for workers, unions, and public institutions. It dramatically expanded the scope of private sector surveillance in American life, while further stigmatizing people who used drugs; encouraging them to hide their use and navigate diminished employment prospects. While it did nothing to make workplaces safer or reduce the harms of substance use in America, it did create two new lucrative industries: urine testing and drug test avoidance. The presentation will call for greater historical understanding of employers as key drug warriors, workplaces as battlefields, and working Americans among the casualties.