Possible Drug Use??
teewhy68
11 Posts
One of my supervisors recently received a phone call, from what appears to be a disgruntled ex, stating that one of our employees was actively using drugs. She left her name and two contact numbers.
We have a Drug Free Workplace and the policy is posted all over the building. He is not in a driving position, so I don't think we can pull him in for a random. Have any of you had this issue and if so hwo was it handled? Thanks in advance
We have a Drug Free Workplace and the policy is posted all over the building. He is not in a driving position, so I don't think we can pull him in for a random. Have any of you had this issue and if so hwo was it handled? Thanks in advance
Comments
>reasonable suspicion?
NO, we don't have resonable suspicion. Other than a couple of tardies he has been a good employee
My company does not have a random screening process, we only drug screen for pre-employment and probable cause. On rare occassion we've had employees accuse other employees of drug abuse and like yours it's a case where the accused employee is a good employee, hardly misses work, and supervisors are happy with their work.
Good Luck
It may be a costly process but, better to know and deal with it than to have an injury or worse because someone was on drugs while working and lacked the proper judgement.
Since the ex left you some phone numbers, call her back and ask for proof. Then, you will have reasonable cause or you will find out if this is the ex's way to penalize the employee.
A "random test" (as defined by DOT and most drug-free workplace policies) must be truly random -- you must have a randon method for selecting people. This usually means a computer program that spits out a list monthly of the employees to be sent. The list cannot be added to or amended, or it is no longer random.
A "reasonable cause" test is based on specific (albeit subjective)criteria. You must have specific, observable facts witnessed by a superior (behavior such as stumbling, glassy eyes, odor of alcohol, etc.). Heresay (such as you describe) is never grounds for a reasonable cause test. You may open yourself up to liability (for example, is the employee a member of a protected class who could claim you are unfairly targeting him?).
A phone call is best handled by ignoring it.