A new initiative is challenging Massachusetts employers to increase awareness of opioid use disorder in the workplace and to develop ways to address it.
The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation on Tuesday launched its Mass C.A.R.E.S. — Massachusetts Communication and Awareness around Recovery and Employer Support — program, asking participating businesses to pledge to do at least four things in 2020 to make their workplaces more recovery-friendly. Suggested “action steps” include completing a risk assessment and revisiting employee benefit design.
“The number of companies that are willing to step up and take the pledge is really inspirational,” Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Eileen McAnneny said at a launch event held at Bank of America’s downtown Boston offices. She said addressing the opioid epidemic is an “economic imperative,” and that MTF is hoping to draw as many employers as possible into the effort.
Initial participants include John Hancock, KPMG, Liberty Mutual, PwC, Bank of America, Rockland Trust and EY, among others.
State Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said opioid overdoses were the leading cause of death at work in 2016 and 2017, and preliminary data suggests the same is true for 2018.
“For the employer community to step up as recovery-friendly employers is a stigma-buster,” Sudders said.
