Workplace Substance Abuse

According to law, substance abuse is a disease and as such, people who have a disease are hard to fire because of the disease unless the workplace substance abuse policy is laid out in clear terms that describe what actions will be taken should an employee partake if illegal substances.Most of the time, illegal substances are not tolerated on the job; the gray area comes when substance abuse causes an employee to underperform or to start making habits that are bad for the workplace like tardiness or sleeping on the job.

Most job manuals state a zero tolerance policy for drugs being used on site or for coming into work drunk or stoned.The moment that it is confirmed, and the business has a right to take the person to the drug testing site and have him or her tested if the business suspects that someone is under the influence, the offending employee is terminated from the job position in the company.No muss, no fuss, just gone.
When an employee admits to abusing substances but not while on the job, it may be up to the business, or the health insurance that the business supplies, to provide the employee with rehabilitation opportunities.During rehab, the place of business may be required to keep a job of equal compensation available for the person in rehab.While this puts great strain on most small business, many larger businesses can survive for an extended time.Since the job does not have to be the same one that the person left, most large businesses have a position that they can offer the person when he or she returns from rehab.
While different industries have different rules regarding drug use, most notably Major League Baseball's drug suspension policy, every workplace should have a complete understanding of the law and the responsibilities of a place of employment when it comes to substance abuse of any kind. This understanding may help save the headaches that an addict can bring with their behavior and with having to hold a position available if he or she decides to get into rehab.
Workplace substance abuse policies are serious business, and they can make the difference between providing a legal framework for getting rid of an ineffective employee and getting successfully sued by said employee.Because the laws differ in every state, it is important for the business to find a lawyer who can explain not only what the law says, but also what should be in the employee handbook to protect the business from those who would abuse substances.
Supervisors and employees need to be trained in the substance abuse policy, so that there are no miscommunications and no gaps in knowledge about the program on a wide scale.When drug testing is a part of the program, it must be administered in such a way as to protect the employee's privacy and it must be a reasonable policy.
Considering that up to 20 percent of the workplace related deaths can be attributed to substance abuse, businesses need to be acutely aware of the problem especially in high pressure, high risk jobs.Like the rest of us, substance abusers rarely leave their problems at home.As employers become more knowledgeable about their employees, there is no doubt that they will find behaviors that are disconcerting, but the pernicious substance abuser's propensity for putting others at risk and for trying to find new ways to enjoy their drug of choice.Before these behaviors, which may include stealing, spill over in to the workplace, business owners and management teams need to know what to do.