Newspaper Disciplines 50 for Chemical Abuse

After a lengthy internal investigation of alleged drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace, the Orange County Register has fired or “otherwise disciplined” more than 50 employees, the newspaper said Tuesday.

“This investigation was conducted as a last resort in an effort to remove drug and alcohol abuse from our workplace,” said Publisher R. David Threshie. “We believed we had exhausted all other options available to us.”

In its written statement, the Register--with about 2,800 workers, one of the county’s most prominent employers--did not identify the workers involved and did not specify how many had been fired. None have been arrested, and no criminal charges are pending. A spokesman for the Santa Ana Police Department said Tuesday that police knew about the Register investigation and had given technical advice and cooperation.

The internal investigation was coordinated by a consulting firm, Confidential Management Services, based in San Dimas. The Register’s news release described the investigation as five months long.

The newspaper said it launched the inquiry “after a number of employees and spouses of employees told Register managers of a serious problem of drug and alcohol sale, purchase and use at Register facilities.”

The Register said the 50 or so workers “were in a variety of departments within the newspaper.”

Since 1988 the Register has had a policy against drug and alcohol abuse. It includes pre-employment testing for drug and alcohol use, as well as rehabilitative help for employees who seek it.

Threshie said the newspaper, before launching the investigation, reminded employees of the policy and urged those with drug or alcohol problems to seek help. Some came forward, Threshie said. “Others, unfortunately, ignored the policy, thereby jeopardizing their safety and that of others and, of course, their own employment.”

Julie Holt, executive director of Drug Use Is Life Abuse, an Orange County-based educational organization, said many companies in the county have similar problems.

“The Register is not alone,” she said. “This is fairly common.”

On Jan. 31, 1989, The Times Orange County Edition announced in Costa Mesa that 20 of its production employees had been arrested on charges of selling drugs to other employees. The arrests were made by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department after a five-month investigation, which the newspaper had requested.