SEATTLE'S MORNING NEWS

Employer has unique solution to opioid crisis

Jun 3, 2018, 7:22 AM | Updated: Oct 1, 2024, 7:36 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.

Please follow our Community Guidelines

Hood Canal Bridge...

Chris Sullivan

Stuck after a Hood Canal Bridge opening? New traffic signal aims to help

A new traffic signal near the Hood Canal Bridge will create gaps in post-opening gridlock so trapped residents can get out of their neighborhoods.

4 minutes ago

watkins murders...

James Lynch

Cold case from the shadows: The brutal 1995 murders of a young mother and daughter

In November 1995, a mother and her young daughter were brutally killed in a crime that still haunts a community more than three decades later.

4 minutes ago

FILE - Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith takes an oath before the House Judiciar...

Associated Press

House Republican accuses Smith of lying about Trump probe and refers him for possible prosecution

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key Republican lawmaker says he believes that special counsel Jack Smith may have lied to Congress while testifying about his investigation of President Donald Trump and that the Justice Department should consider prosecuting him. Lawyers for Smith deny the allegation and say he testified truthfully. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the […]

17 minutes ago

Associated Press

US on track to have historically low number of homicides in 2026, report says

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Data collected from 30 American cities showed an 18% decrease in the homicide rate from 2025 compared to the same period in 2026, translating to about 215 fewer homicides this year, according to a new report from the independent Council on Criminal Justice. Should the trend continue, it would push the […]

3 hours ago

A protestor sits on the hood of a police car during a demonstration demanding educational reforms a...

Associated Press

India protest movement holds capital sit-in as police crack down on demonstrators

NEW DELHI (AP) — Thousands of young protesters were camped on the streets of India’s capital New Delhi on Thursday, defying new restrictions in the latest show of strength for a movement that has become one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. India’s “Cockroach” protests began more than a month ago […]

5 hours ago

President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, salute as a U.S. Army carry team move...

Associated Press

Houthis say they attacked 2 Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea as US carries out 12th night of strikes

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said early Thursday they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, and the U.S. military said it conducted a 12th night of strikes against Iran as the two countries vie for control of vital shipping lanes. The Houthi attack in the Red Sea threatened to open a new […]

5 hours ago

Employer has unique solution to opioid crisis