Sleeping Pills

lhill

The situation is this: A lineman who works on high voltage power lines was on call (if there was an electrical outage after normal working hours the dispatcher calls him at home and he goes and does the repair work). One night he was called and said that he couldn't take the call because he took a sleeping pill and was too sleepy. We, of course, got someone else to take the call. He told his supervisor a few days ago that he was on Prozac because he was stressed out. Now he can't sleep so he has been prescribed a sleeping pill. Not knowing just how much information we can get from this employee without risking HIPAA non-compliance, I'm afraid to inquire about the Prozac effect and what the doctor told him. Naturally, safety is first. We will not jeopardize our employee by keeping him on call when he is using sleeping pills. On the other hand, this is part of his job description and he is on rotation with the other linemen. He cannot maintain his current level of employment and not be on call. Can I tell him we need a release from his doctor that states he is physically able to be on call? If he goes without the sleep medication the week he is on call he says he can't function because of lack of sleep. What are our options?

Linda

marc

Provide a complete copy of the job description with all those on call features and ask the EEs provider to give the EE a clearance to work based on current medical conditions and prescriptions, or to give work restrictions. You have safety issues for this EE and your other EEs to protect.
Otherwise the company is exposed for any problems that arise.

crawfod

Hopefully you have a policy that allows medical examinations to determine fitness for duty. In our policy, we also have a statement that says, "It is the employee's responsibility to inform the proper supervisory personnel of his/her use of such legally prescribed medication before the employee goes on duty or performs any work." Upon such notice we then ask the employee to provide a doctor's statement as to work restrictions, if any. We don't expect the doctor to describe the medical problem, just confirm what he/she can do at work.

I agree with Marc in that you now have knowledge of a condition and therefore have the responsibility to protect both your employee and others.

HRinFL

Explain to the ee that if he cannot take call, he is at risk of losing his employment at least in the job he currently has. Since the ee has suggested that his insomnia is related to the medication he was prescribed, encourage HIM to discuss alternative medications or treatment methods for his condition with his doctor. Then arm him with a copy of the job description, slap him on the back, and send him off. He will need to provide medical documentation from the doctor regarding his ability to comply with the essential functions of the job.

You can research the side effects of medication without violating HIPAA. See if insomnia is a side effect, or if this ee is just pulling your leg.

atrimble

Had almost the same exact situation about five months ago. EE requested exemption from "on-call" duty (which he's fought against for years now) due to his new medicine making him "sleepy when I take it when I get off work." I requested a fitness for duty report from the prescribing doctor. I then scheduled an exam with our doctor, after his doctor's note was vague and just reiterated what the employee had stated. Told employee his job was in jeopardy if he couldn't perform all the necessary functions, and the doctor's statement didn't verify or deny his ability to work on call. EE decided to skip appointment with our doctor and apparently went to see his doc again, because the next day I got a "fit for duty" report from the employee's doctor. It ended up that the medication that was supposed to be making the employee "sleepy" has no known drowsy side-effects (as paraphrased from the prescribing doctor's second note). I wrote a memo informing employee that his name is back on the On Call list until such time as health problems as certified by a health practitioner may exempt him from this essential function.

marc

Good follow-up work Abby. Even though it's a pain in the ass, it takes that kind of sticktoitiveness (how do you like that word?), to head off some of the ways EEs try to work the system.