Employee Drug Testing: Estimated Cost to Test all Executive Branch Employees and New Hires.

Abstract

Your June 24, 1991, letter noted your Subcommittee's involvement in federal drug testing issues as part of its broader jurisdiction over personnel issues affecting civil servants. As part of the Subcommittee's continued oversight of agency drug testing programs, you asked that we estimate the cost of drug testing all executive branch employees. This report provides the requested information. As agreed with the Subcommittee, it also provides cost estimates for drug testing applicants for federal positions as well as estimates provided by the Department of Justice of what it has spent litigating drug testing-related cases. Executive Order 12564 (Sept 15,1986) established the Federal Drug-Free Workplace Program. This Executive Order required each executive branch agency to establish drug testing programs for employees in sensitive positions. It also required each agency to determine its own random testing frequency. Frequency, in this context, refers to the percentage of the number of employees in sensitive positions subject to drug testing that are tested annually. As we have previously reported, agencies vary widely in the frequency of random drug testing. For example, some agencies tested at a frequency of 100 percent while others tested at frequencies as low as 4 percent. To achieve more centralized policy oversight, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) was designated as the lead agency in implementing the Executive Order in February 1991. In this role, ONDCP has taken on oversight responsibilities for federal drug testing programs. As part of its responsibilities, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHs) compiles a Federal Drug-Free Workplace Program Semi-Annual Survey that profiles executive branch agencies' drug testing programs.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 10, 1992
Accession Number
ADA299245

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Attorneys
  • Congress
  • Cost Estimates
  • Costs
  • Drug Users
  • Employment
  • Executives
  • Frequency
  • Governments
  • House Of Representatives
  • Human Resources
  • Litigation
  • Management Personnel
  • Personnel Management
  • President (United States)
  • Quality Control
  • United States

Readers

  • Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse Science in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
  • Government and Public Administration Law.