SOBEREYE

Helps reduce risk of accidents in the workplace

By Gianfranco Scherini,

The legalization of cannabis in 18 states for recreational use and in 37 states for medical uses has brought with it challenges for workplaces to balance workers rights and safety.

Zero-tolerance drug policies are becoming increasingly ineffective and impractical for most businesses since marijuana is commonly used socially, similar to alcohol. A Gallup survey found that marijuana use is almost as common as alcohol, with 49% of U.S. adults saying they use marijuana and 60% saying they drink alcoholic beverages. Additionally, zero-tolerance drug policies for marijuana have been a leading cause of the growing national trucker shortage and in the workforce in general.

California took another step last year when Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2188 (Quirk), which makes California the seventh state in the country to prohibit employers from discriminating against workers who consume marijuana “off the job and away from the workplace.” The fundamental reason behind the legislative change is that marijuana can be detected in users' systems for weeks or even months after use, depending on the testing method, and well after the effect has vanished.

Although the new California law does not apply in the building and construction trades and still prohibits cannabis use on the job, the challenge for many businesses will be how to test or detect when cannabis use does cause impairment in the workplace. This is particularly a concern due to the evolving nature of effective impairment tests.

Although many people believe workplace marijuana use can be handled like alcohol with a legal limit and a quick test to detect offenders, that is not the case. Cannabis breathalyzers are under development, and no data correlating THC level in breath and impairment is available since marijuana is metabolized differently from alcohol. On top of that, laws limit routine or random drug testing: employers may not require employees to submit to random drug testing, except under certain narrowly defined circumstances.

Focusing on what is more important: Catching drug users and firing them or preventing accidents?

It is a well-known fact that worker impairment is the primary cause of accidents, yet many companies today rely primarily on drug screening to prevent risks of accidents in the workplace. According to the National Safety Council, workplace impairment is the inability to function normally or safely due to various reasons, such as fatigue, medical conditions, medications, stress, and drug or alcohol use. Therefore, a new approach in the workplace is needed, shifting from drug testing to impairment detection to include a wider range of potential risk factors that are the source of most accidents in the workplace.

To address this new challenge with an innovative approach, San Mateo-based SOBEREYE, Inc. presented at the recent Spring Thaw Safety Conference and discussed how it has developed an automated pupillary analysis solution for workplace use. Pupillary analysis measures the pupil's response to changing light conditions or light stimuli. Pupillary light reflex (PLR), an involuntary reflex controlled by the Autonomic Nervous System, changes if there is an anomaly in the Nervous

System. The portable impairment risk detection tool developed by SOBEREYE allows employees to test themselves before and/ or during their working shift. Employees hold the testing device up to their eyes, which detect impairment risk from any cause, including medications, drugs, alcohol, fatigue, sleep deprivation, and/or illness. Within a minute, the worker performs the test and receives an immediate response. SOBEREYE has helped thousands of employees stay safe on the job since its introduction in 2018 with fairness and respect. It's time to shift the narrative from a "drug-free workplace" that requires a policing attitude to an "impairment-free workplace" that is implemented in cooperation with the workforce. n