General Alum & Chemical Corporation in Holland, Ohio, manufactures liquid aluminum sulfate, a substance used primarily in paper manufacturing and water and waste treatment. As in many other small businesses, management personnel were acquainted with the concept of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) but did not pursue implementation because they thought that the cost would be prohibitive and that EAPs were a luxury for only large corporations.

General Alum was a small company, one where everybody knew everybody and no one believed there were any serious problems. Then, in late 1987, an employee on drugs went home and killed his wife. The workforce at General Alum was stunned. It could happen here; it happened here.

Management knew it was time to implement pre-employment and for-cause drug screening. Exploring this type of program led management to consider what it would do if someone failed the test. From there, it was only a short distance to an EAP. Once they learned how modest the costs were (approximately $900 a year), only two major hurdles remained: confidentiality and EAP coverage for a three-state operation. They found an external EAP firm that could provide services at the three worksites, help the company develop an alcohol and drug policy and maintain strict confidentiality.

Since the traumatic incident in 1987, nearly 40 percent of General Alum & Chemical' s employees have joined the EAP program. Approximately 17 percent use the program for substance abuse problems such as alcohol and street drugs, prescription drugs, and polydrugs. Regular articles on the EAP in the company's bimonthly newsletter can be partially credited with significantly increasing EAP participation by employees' family members. Also contributing to the high utilization of EAP services is the company's policy of sharing one-half of the rehabilitation costs not covered by insurance for an employee.

Although pre-employment drug screening has at times revealed a failure rate as high as 20 percent, there has been no for-cause testing needed, based upon job performance criteria.

The support of top management is essential for maintaining a successful EAP program, and this is clearly evident at General Alum & Chemical Corporation. President and CEO, James Poure, who has owned and operated the business for nearly 13 years, recently chaired the Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce and is launching a community-wide effort to promote drug-free workplace policy. Poure is living proof that one can be a caring employer and a community activist. He was also named Entrepreneur of the Year by consensus among Inc. Magazine, Ernst & Young, and Merrill Lynch.