positive drug screen - terminate?

sohappytobe

Registered Nurse working in a hospital setting with positive drug screen. Are there any laws prohibiting her from being fired immediatley or should she be suspended while she gets help? Is company obligated to keep her position while she's obtaining help?

Don D

Had she come forward and requested help under your drugfree workplace policy, your policy may have provided a safety net for her while in treatment. A person who tests positive has no entitlement to that protection, unless your policy allows it, which I doubt. It boils down to your policy and practice. In the absence of a policy, however, there would be no law requiring you to retain her or hold her job for her while she attends treatment. If you have no such policy and decide to hold her job while she attends treatment, then you'd be advised to do the same for others under the same circumstances.

Balloonman1

Terminate. Nurses, who care for people under the influence of drugs.......makes my construction workers look like saints. :-)
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman

Rockie

Terminate. This is why it's so important to drug screen health care workers. There is no obligation to retain a current user.

Ethel

Terminate. As a current user she has no protection. As a medical care giver, she is a danger to the patients. Terminate.

sohappytobe

thank you fellas ... you always shed good light.