Audit of VA's Drug-Free Workplace Program

We conducted this audit to assess how effectively VA’s Drug-Free Workplace Program identifies and addresses illegal drug use among VA employees. VA needs to improve management of its Drug-Free Workplace Program. VA selected about 3 of every 10 applicants for pre employment drug testing before hiring these individuals into Testing Designated Positions (TDPs) in fiscal year (FY) 2013. We estimate that of the nearly 22,600 individuals VA reported hiring into TDPs in FY 2013, about 15,800 were hired without a pre-employment drug test. VA facilities tested about 68 percent of the 3,420 employees selected for random drug testing in FY 2013. We identified at least 19,100 employees in TDPs who were not subject to the possibility of monthly random drug testing. In addition, VA erroneously designated as many as 13,200 employees in non-TDPs for drug testing in FY 2014. Further, only 17 (33 percent) of the 51 employees who tested positive for drugs as a result of reasonable suspicion of on-the-job drug use or after a workplace accident or injury were referred to VA’s Employee Assistance Program. These issues occurred because VA does not support that all tentative selectees for TDPs need to be drug tested before being hired. VA also does not effectively monitor local facility compliance with random employee drug testing requirements. Furthermore, VA lacks adequate oversight to ensure the accuracy of drug testing data and that consistent personnel actions are taken when employees test positive for drugs. As a result, VA has little assurance that this program is performing as intended to identify and eliminate illegal drug use in its workforce. Since VA’s workforce is expected to grow significantly with the passage of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014, VA needs to take actions to address weaknesses in its Drug-Free Workplace Program immediately. We recommended the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Resources Management implement processes to ensure full compliance with VA’s pre-employment applicant drug testing and random employee drug testing requirements, and improve program integrity by ensuring the accurate coding of employees in TDPs. The Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Resources Management concurred with our recommendations and provided an acceptable action plan. We will follow up on the implementation of the corrective actions.