Tennessee Drug Free Workplace

Drug Free Workplace Program:  Tennessee

Five easy steps to becoming a Certified Drug Free Workplace in Tennessee and receiving the state mandated 5% discount.

Scroll down for five easy steps to becoming a Certified Drug Free Workplace and qualifying for the state mandated 5% discount on workers compensation insurance.  We have helped more than 9,044 companies achieve state certification as a drug free workplace and we 100% guarantee your certification or your money back. Together we can make a difference in the fight against drug abuse in our nation.

PLEASE NOTE: Self-Insured companies and members of Self-Insured Workers’ Comp Pool Programs also qualify for the state-mandated discount. Your company will need to complete the Tennessee Drug Free Workplace Program Application and mail it to the Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation in order to receive your 5 % discount on workers’ comp. premiums and/or to qualify as a contractor on State contracts. You must submit the TN application every 12 months. We will assist you with this process.

If your organization is already certified, we will help you maintain compliance and re-certify each year.

Please Note: STATE AND FEDERAL CONTRACT & GRANT RECIPIENTS MUST MAINTAIN A DRUG FREE WORKPLACE.  SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE FOR THE LAW.

Your drug free workplace membership helps you meet the certification and re-certification requirements of Tennessee law and includes monthly employee drug education training newsletters.  Membership includes: 

One-year subscription to the English version “Drug-Free@Workplace” employee training newsletter. This monthly newsletter provides annual employee drug education/awareness without incurring loss of payroll and productivity while employees stop work to attend training.

  • Free Supervisor Training videotapes or DVDs. Provides annual supervisor training.
  • A list of treatment and counseling centers in your area.
  • Annual reminder to renew your certification. So you don’t lose your 5% discount.
  • Fill-in-the-blanks substance abuse policy along with affidavit. Meets all requirements of Tennessee law & TN state contract law.
  • Drug Free Workplace poster, window and door stickers. Required by law.
  • Free legal updates on policy changes. Avoid legal liability!
  • Suicide prevention education
  • Free drug free workplace consultation from our drug free workplace experts.
  • Assistance in completing Application for Certification along with step-by-step guide and instruction sheet.
  • Free Drug Free Workplace stickers for hard hats, vehicles, etc.  Show state inspectors you are in compliance.

One-year membership including all of the above and the monthly employee newsletter in English for $165. If you wish to add the employee newsletter in Spanish, it is an additional $55. If you wish to add the supervisor newsletter, it is an additional $120.

Safe Driver Policy, Driver Acknowledgement Form, Violence Prevention Policy & Procedures Manual, and Violence Prevention Policy available free upon request.

The 5% state-mandated discount on workers comp insurance results in an annual savings of several thousand dollars for most companies and organizations, and your membership helps our 501(c)3 nonprofit agency prevent drug abuse among children.

Click Join Now above to join the Council’s Drug-Free Workplace program and subscribe to the Drug-Free Workplace monthly Employee Education newsletter.

Please note: We also offer Supervisor Training newsletters and Spanish Employee version newsletters for a small additional fee. These monthly newsletters are the most cost-effective way to meet your drug-free workplace training requirements. In-person presentations and videotape training require that employees stop work to attend training resulting in loss of payroll and loss of productivity. Monthly newsletters solve this problem and save your company thousands of training dollars

Step 1: SUBSTANCE ABUSE POLICY

Your company must have a substance abuse policy in place that meets all requirements of Tennessee law. 

We email you a ‘fill-in-the-blank’ policy in English and Spanish. Simply print the policy on company letterhead and hand it out to all employees. If you have any questions regarding the substance abuse policy, we have drug free workplace experts who will answer your questions at no charge. Sample letters and forms are included in the policy. These should also be printed on company letterhead. 

Step 2: TWO HOURS OF SUPERVISOR TRAINING 

You should conduct the first hour of supervisor training prior to applying for your drug free workplace certificate. The first hour of supervisor training should include a discussion of how to enforce the new company substance abuse policy along with viewing one of our supervisor training videos or DVDs. We will assist you in selecting an appropriate video or DVD for supervisor training. The second hour of supervisor training may be completed by selecting another video/DVD from our video library list, or by subscribing to our Supervisor Training newsletters. Download a sample supervisor newsletter.

The supervisor newsletters are the most cost-effective and efficient way to train your supervisors how to supervise a state-certified drug free workplace!

Step 3: ONE HOUR OF EMPLOYEE EDUCATION

Each employee must receive one hour of drug education. Our monthly Employee Education newsletter is the most cost-effective means of conducting this training and is included in your membership fee. Distributing the newsletter to employees once a month provides a total of two hours of employee drug education. The Employee Education newsletters are emailed to you on a monthly basis. We suggest they be attached to your employees' paychecks, but how you distribute them is up to you. Drug education is appropriate and critically important to an employer’s overall efforts to prevent drug abuse in the workplace and protect workers. Drug education received at work can be taken home and shared with the employees' children to help keep them drug and alcohol free. Download a sample Employee Education newsletter (also available in Spanish). Research has shown that information, education, and training that are provided and reinforced in the workplace itself rather than in an offsite classroom has a deeper impact on workplace attitudes and behaviors. Information that is presented through the workplace in smaller amounts, over longer periods, and frequently reinforced is often understood better and more motivating than one-time-only trainings or meetings.

The newsletters are the most cost-effective and efficient way to provide annual employee drug education and training.

Step 4: Drug Testing.

The Council offers a variety of drug testing solutions for small to medium sized businesses -- from instant result devices to site collection devices with lab confirmation, as well as many turn-key fixed-facility options. Not sure which solution is best for your company? Drug testing options can be reviewed at: https://drugfreeworkplacestore.com/drug-test-kits/

Contact one of our knowledgeable testing experts today to discuss your state specific requirements.

Please call our Testing Experts at (404) 223-2481 for more information.

Step 5: EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP) OR RESOURCE FILE

Certified drug-free workplaces should provide either an EAP (Employee Assistance Program), or a resource list of treatment and counseling centers in their area for employees who test positive.

Many health insurance plans include an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). If your company health insurance plan does not include EAP, or if your company does not offer health insurance for employees, we will provide you with an updated list of treatment and counseling centers in your area.

After completing the aforementioned five steps, we will assist you in applying or reapplying for certification.

TN State and Federal contractors must maintain a drug-free workplace:

In 2001, the TN General Assembly amended the Drug-Free Workplace Law, 50-9-101 through 50-9-113, Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) to require employers with 5 or more employees contracting with state agencies or units of local government to prepare affidavits certifying compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace Program.

Any employer who is found to have violated this provision will be prohibited from contracting with any other local government or state agency until the employer can prove it is in compliance with all the requirements of the Drug-Free Workplace Program. Each additional violation imposes longer time periods of prohibition against contracting with a governmental entity against an employer, up to a period of one year.

The employer's affidavit that its program provides for a drug-free workplace absolves the local government of any further responsibility for the employer's compliance or lack of compliance with the requirements of the drug-free workplace program. A certificate of compliance and a model affidavit is available to Council members.

THE COUNCIL ON ALCOHOL AND DRUGS, ALONG WITH THE DRUGS DON’T WORK PROGRAM, ARE DEDICATED TO EDUCATING EMPLOYERS, EMPLOYEES AND THE PUBLIC AT LARGE ABOUT:

(1) the dangers of substance abuse, especially the abuse of illicit drugs; (2) the impact of such abuse on the workplace; (3) the most appropriate, effective and legally accepted means for employers to address their substance abuse in the workplace problems; (4) the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees; (5) the status of legislative, regulatory and legal developments at the state level, and; (6) the very legitimate and necessary - role of employers in our national effort to prevent drug abuse.

The Council on Alcohol and Drugs recognizes the threat of drug abuse in the workplace. Among other consequences, drug and alcohol abuse decreases productivity and increases accidents, absenteeism, product defects, medical and insurance costs, and employee theft. Employers and employees have a large stake and legitimate role to play in the "war on drugs." Click on the Join Now button below to become a member of The Council on Alcohol and Drugs' Drug Free Workplace Program and qualify for the state mandated 5% discount on your workers' compensation premiums. Your membership helps our 501(c)3 nonprofit agency, established in 1969, to prevent drug abuse among children.

The Council on Alcohol and Drugs, Inc.
270 Peachtree Street NW, Suite 2200
Atlanta, GA 30303-1283
Phone: (404) 223-2486
Fax: (866) 786-9811
Email: swade@remove-thislivedrugfree.org

© 2021 The Council on Alcohol and Drugs, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.