COLLEEN OBRIEN

Employer has unique solution to opioid crisis

Jun 3, 2018, 7:22 AM

The CEO of an electronics company in Indiana figured he had a problem when 10-percent of the people applying for jobs at his factory failed the drug test. A handful of his current employees had failed drug tests, too.

The issue? The opioid epidemic was picking off his employees. And at this rate, according to CNN Money, he was having a hard time keeping up with manufacturing.

Instead of firing them, or passing on certain otherwise qualified applicants, he decided he’d show some compassion and offered to pay for drug addiction treatment.

High-risk users are put on an intensive two-month treatment program costing around $5,000, but it comes with a promise that the job is theirs if they manage to stay clean.

He started doing this in March and eight people have participated. Four were determined to be high-risk and entered the program and so far two have come back to work and have passed other drug tests.

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Employer has unique solution to opioid crisis