Alcohol

hrwoman

I have an employee who smells of alcohol and admitted he was drinking the night before but he smells like a brewery this morning. I don't want him interacting w/ customers and employees smelling this way. Should I sit him down and talk to him about this or go ahead and send him for a breathalizer.

Need help asap!! Thanks.

HRCalico

Refer to your policy. x;-) Assuming you have no policy on this and thus stems your question, I wouldn't terminate because there is no clear policy. I might suspend without pay for the day. Give a warning, get a policy in place, and communicate it to all. Good luck, and happy Monday.

System

You can send him home because he smells like alcohol and you don't want him interacting with customers. You can make it a counselling session or a first written warning. What would be your point in sending him for an alcohol test? Do you have a drug and alcohol policy that you follow that would establish a guideline for being suspended or terminated? It's enough that you can smell it and don't want him dealing with customers. Get another supervisor to confirm it.

hrwoman

I talked to him and he does smell like alchohol but he doesn't have any other symptoms, i.e. slurring of words, no red eyes, inablity to walk normally, asked his supervisor about his work perf and he said he was fine. I ended up talking to him and told him he couldn't come to work smelling like alcohol and if he continues he would be subject to discplinary actions.
We do have a policy in place but it doesn't go into much detail. Just that if we have reasonable cause we can require you to submit to an urine or blood sample.

His interaction is mainly w/ co-workers as he is office personnel and customers is pretty much over the phone.

Don D

What was his response?

hrwoman

He said yes he was drinking yesterday but he hadn't been today and that was why he smelled the way he did. He said he understood me when I told him this was an issue with smelling like alcohol while he was at work and he also stated that he understood when I said if it continued he will be subject to discplinary action.

He wasn't upset about being approached with the issue and seemed to understand completely so we'll see if it happens again and go from there.

System

Reasonable cause is something supervisors are trained for. It can't merely be a suspiscion based upon the detection of alcohol from talking to the employee. Perhaps he is taking Nyquil. There is documentation provided by more than one supervisor. Your EAP may provide the training free.

JudyT929

I would handle this the same way with any 'offensive body odor'. Some people retain scents longer even after they've bathed. I used to sit next to a man in church on Sunday mornings who always smelled like alcohol but it was obvious he was clean and not intoxicated, he just retained the smell. Also my ex husband who had high blood pressure and perspires a lot retained smells and if he ate a lot of garlic the smell could stay for several days as well as if he drank a lot and I knew for a fact that he bathed. There could be a medical reason why your employee would retain the smell.

Rockie

I've heard that some people secrete alcohol through their pores after they have had a lot to drink. Still, though, I'd let him know it wasn't acceptable to come to work smelling like brewery!

Don D

This is an interesting issue. I doubt if any of your policies say something like, "....is prohibited from having an alcohol smell the day following ingestion." And what if the employee were to tell you that he ingested alcohol on Friday night and doesn't know why the smell lingers through Monday? I agree with Judy, in that scenario. Smelling of alcohol, but not being intoxicated or impaired would be similar to having extreme body odor or even using a half-bottle of perfume and interfacing with customers, all perhaps equally offensive.

zen

Everyone has made a lot of good observations here - I just wanted to add a PSA to the thread:

Although this particular employee has admitted as to why he smells of alcohol, employers should be made aware that some medical conditions, such as diabetes, will cause a person to have a strong chemical smell. The scent of diabetic ketoacidosis is sometimes described as smelling of alcohol, it's sort of a mixture of the aroma of juicy fruit gum and acetone together, in my opinion. The person can also act intoxicated, have a decreased level of consciousness, be combative, exhibit slurred speech and uneven gait before they go into a coma. Moral of the story: investigate the cause.

TN HR

I agree with Zen. Very good point indeed. I also would like to point out that reeking of booze should not be easily explained away by the "too much the night before" defense. In my experience, reasonable suspicion always starts with "strong odor of alcohol emmiting from the person's body"............

Gene

Judith

Even with the possibility of another medical condition I would send him for a drug screening if it is within your policy. He may have been drinking the night before and, despite no other symptoms, may still be intoxicated today. I would also review the ADA so you know what to expect if your cause is alcohol and he attends your EAP, etc. Good luck!!