Drug testing Supervisors
gstep
3 Posts
A few days ago a Supervisor on third shift sent an employee
to get a drug test after he walked outside and smelled marijuana
where this employee was standing. He told the employee what he smelled
and the guy just laughed, then the Supervisor told him he had to
send him for a drug test because he suspected that he was smoking
marijuana at work. The guy got really upset and pleaded with him
not to because he would definently lose his job (this employee has
been overheard several times saying that if he was ever sent for a
drug test that he would just go home because "everyone knows I like
to party". The employee finally left to take the drug test, but didn't
come back to work for several hours.
Anyway, the employee passes his drug test. He had told a girl in the office
that it was easy to pass the test when it's not "you" really taking the
test.
Well I forgot to mention the guy is black, which is not important, but
relevant to the story. My HR person is white and married to a black guy
and has been know to go out of her way to help the black employees keep
their jobs when they are ready to be terminated. Well, when she found
out that the Supervisor sent this employee for a drug test she immediently
sent him for a drug test, saying that his name was chosen at random.
Can the HR person be terminated for reverse racism, and how do I prove it?
Comments
First off, do you have a policy on reasonable suspicion testing? This is what the supervisor did. You did not indicate if the suspect employee had any other "indicators" of substance abuse (increased tardiness/absenteeism, increased accident/error rates, decreased productivity, etc.). Assuming that you have a policy and that there were some other indicators that might indicate substance abuse, then your supervisor acted properly.
Next, check with the lab doing the collection and testing and see what their protocols are. Did the temperature and spec gravity check out on the sample given? We typically require that once notified, the employee has to report for testing within 2 hours (that way it minimizes the opportunity to adulterate the sample by dilution or use of interferring chemicals). It is possible to pass the test in a couple of different ways, but a good lab will pick up on it most of the time.
Regarding your HR person, are you sure that the supervisor really wasn't picked by random? Do you use an outside service to do this? If not, you should for just this very reason. We have sometimes had the same employee picked in back to back months before, so strange things can happen. If it wasn't a random pick, the HR person should be counseled/reprimanded on the abuse of their authority. Firing may be a little harsh, but a warning (up to and including probation) is not out of the question. My concern here is that the HR person (1) lied and (2) retaliated against the supervisor. There will be a definite breakdown in communications and trust between these two for some time to come.
Recommendations: 1. Investigate the incident and take appropriate actions.
2. Firm up any substance abuse testing policies and protocols (make sure to put in the 2 hour limit, and also make sure that the employees are paid for the time away from work + mileage).
3. Double check with your testing lab to see what the protocols are. Is it a 10 panel test, NIDA or non-NIDA, etc. I would suggest a personal visit to the collection and testing facility by you would be appropriate.
OK, I'm off my soapbox now. You should check whether the supervisor really was chosen randomly. If so, tell the supervisor. If not, the HR person should be disciplined/counseled/educated for her misconduct and for putting the company at risk of being sued.
James Sokolowski
Senior Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers
advice to the Supervisor that was drug tested. He called our Corporate
Human Resource Manager and had her look into it for him. Well, he was
right, he was not chosen at random. The lady that sent him for the drug
test, the President and Operations Manager called him into his office and
told him. She did not say a word, the Manager apologised for her and said
she was told to send you for suspicion, not random. They asked him to keep
this quiet and not take it any further. The Supervisor agreed, but later told
me that he was under the impression that they were talking about keeping
it quiet to the other employees. He has now found out that they did
nothing to the lady in HR. Is there any steps he can take now or should
he just leave it alone? Thanks for your suggestions. By the way I am in
charge of Operations, if I was her boss she would have been gone long ago
all of the problems she has caused.
As to the employee who was tested and passed the test, then told another that he had someone else take the test, I would treat it like any other misconduct and investigate. Get a witness statement from the person in the office, interview the testing facility about how they identified the person and see if they could identify him again, then question the employee about it. If at the end of the investigation, the company believes the employee sent someone else to take the drug test, the employee could be disciplined or terminated.
Good Luck.