Returning to Work After a Positive Test

(Spring 2017) Real Life Incidents: Working Partners® Consortium members receive phone support and consultation about drug-free workplace (DFWP) issues — a benefit we term “troubleshooting.” Here is a brief description of a troubleshoot call and our response/suggestions.

Situation:

A drug-free workplace (DFWP) Program Administrator (P.A.) called with questions regarding an employee who was off work as a result of a positive alcohol test. The employee “Matt” tested positive for alcohol on a reasonable suspicion test and was told by his supervisor he could come back to work as soon as he could produce a negative test result. This was a first for the company and the P.A. was curious how long they had to wait before bringing him back.  The P.A. shared that Matt is a valued employee and his supervisor is anxious to have him back on the job. They said they’ve never seen him “drunk” on the job, assume he just partied too late the night before, doubt he has a problem with alcohol and thinks he has “learned his lesson” from the experience.

Response:

Despite the P.A.’s opinion of Matt’s relationship with alcohol, she needs to take herself out of the counselor role and back into the role of administering her company’s DFWP program! Depending on the expertise of a chemical dependency counselor to determine when Matt can return to work is not only wise from a medical standpoint, but also from a liability perspective.

Only an experienced counselor, armed with the results of a professional chemical dependency assessment and a drug and/or alcohol test, should determine an employee’s fitness to return to duty. This type of an assessment is not unlike an assessment for other medical issues such as diabetes and heart disease. The diagnoses should only be handled by a professional credentialed or licensed to perform such specialized assessments.

This is not to say that the P.A. does not have a very important role in the assessment process. To best support Matt and protect the safety, productivity, public image and liability of her company her role is to

• Know and follow her company’s DFWP policy – Ideally, the procedures for returning an employee back to work after a positive test and resulting assessment should be outlined in the company’s DFWP program documents. Among other things, a negative test result AND a counselor’s return-to-duty recommendation should be part of the plan.

• Assure the quality of the assessment provider – A P.A. needs to be able to trust the counselor’s judgment on return-to-duty issues. If there are concerns or doubts, the P.A. should shop around — not unlike what she would do to find a personal medical doctor.

• Have the employee sign any necessary forms prior to the employee’s appointment – Forms might include a detailed agreement of what the employee must do in order to retain his job following this DFWP violation.

• Provide the counselor with as much data as possible before the assessment appointment – Insights from the employer, in addition to the employee’s verbal comments, the result of the drug and/or alcohol test, and any other assessment tool used in the assessment will enable the counselor to have a rounded view of the employee’s use.

• Establish a communication system with the counselor, wait for and follow the counselor’s recommendations – Wait. Just wait … even if there’s pressure coming from others to get the employee back on the job.

• Ask the counselor for follow-up testing recommendations – Since he or she will know a lot about the employee’s use of alcohol and other drugs, the counselor is in the best position to decide how often and when the follow-up tests should occur. The frequency and duration of testing should also match the specifications outlined in the company’s DFWP policy.

• Maintain confidentiality – No one (including the P.A.) needs a boat load of details about the employee’s relationship to alcohol. When the employee can return to work, follow-up testing recommendations, and whether the employee is following through with recommendations from the counselor are the basics of what should be shared with the P.A. And of course only those within the company with a “need to know” should be privy to any of the information surrounding the positive test.

It was wise for this Program Administrator to call us to troubleshoot this situation. Doing so enabled her to assume a role that was most prudent for her company and helpful for her employee.

When making action-decisions, always think comprehensively about the situation you are involved in and are creating by your actions.  Also, consider the what-if scenarios to aid in determining direction.  Most importantly, you could do what the employer with this situation did if you are part of our consortium:

Call Working Partners® Consortium at (614) 337-8200 or 866-354-3397.

As a member of Working Partners® Consortium, don’t forget your access to this troubleshooting service.  Be safe, not sorry!