On September 28, 2011, the FBI stopped Boeing’s unique and innovative attempt to reduce out-of-control medical plan costs. See the news story here.

According to the story, FBI agents raided Boeing’s Ridley Park, Pennsylvania facility and arrested “approximately three dozen people” on charges of running a “prescription drug ring” at the facility. The story reported that, “the accused are a variety of workers, from line workers at the plant to office personnel, along with former employees and outside folks.” Another story, on Reuters, reported that, “23 people were charged with selling the prescription painkiller Oxycontin and other illegal drugs and 14 were charged with attempted possession of various drugs for trying to buy them.”

Boeing produces helicopters at the plant, including both the Chinook and parts of the V-22 Osprey. Roughly 6,000 are employed at the facility. There is no indication that any military hardware was compromised by the druggies at the site.

Boeing, of course, is now going to face some difficult questions, including:

• How effective is its plant security at the facility?
• How does the facility ensure compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, which requires (among other things) that the company make a “good-faith effort to maintain a drug-free workplace”?
• Where did the employees charge their time when engaging in the (alleged) illegal activities?

The bottom-line is that the company is going to have to divert resources from other activities to address the foregoing questions. This is going to be a problem for some time to come.

  

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