Supervisor Training

Posts Tagged ‘alcohol’

Where Do You Find Supervisor Training Tips in Reasonable Suspicion?

Supervisor training tips in reasonable suspicion practice can be invaluable if you must deal with an employee whose job performance has become unreasonably effected by drug or alcohol use.

There are few processes that you will undertake as a manager or supervisor that are as fraught with difficulty as reasonable suspicion. There are great training courses available to help you learn how to deal with these situations but it may be months or longer after the training before you have to deal with a reasonable suspicion case at your workplace. Training tips that summarize the course and remind you of specific information points are invaluable in helping you recall the training and put techniques to use. Read the rest of this entry »

What are the Most Popular Ways Employees Cheat on Reasonable Suspicion Tests?

There are many popular ways employees cheat on reasonable suspicion tests – most of them related to the urine based tests which were most common until recently.

People try to cheat drug tests for a variety of reasons, but they all boil down to the same thing – they do not wish to give the ‘full disclosure’ that is indicated by such tests. For some people it is a political fight, for some it is an invasion of privacy issue, but for most it is to cover up alcohol or drug use. Understanding how employees might fight against having the test in the first place, and then attempt to cheat the test if it comes to it can help you deal effectively with this issue. Read the rest of this entry »

Signs and Symptoms Checklist for Reasonable Suspicion Cases

Careful records of behaviors on a signs and symptoms checklist for reasonable suspicion cases can help ensure that your company is not left vulnerable to a lawsuit.

By taking time to note the behaviors leading to the need for a reasonable suspicion test you will be helping to ensure that you are prepared for the confrontation, and that there is no other reason for the employee’s behavior. Your checklist should contain a section for noting the general nature of the incident or the cause for concern/suspicion; a section for noting disruptive or abnormal behavior; a section for noting any physical signifiers or symptoms notices; and lastly room for a summation paragraph. Read the rest of this entry »

How to Avoid Making Reasonable Suspicion Identification Mistakes

The area of reasonable suspicion in the workplace can be complicated for supervisors.

How do you uphold company policy without making reasonable suspicion identification mistakes that lead to a lawsuit? The key to proper behavior in reasonable suspicion cases is to leave behind the idea of ‘going with your gut’, or of ‘playing a hunch’. In reasonable suspicion cases it is not enough to have a hunch. Although you do not have to have ‘proof’ before requiring a drug or alcohol test, you must have documentation of performance related issues connected to the suspicion of the employee. Read the rest of this entry »

Do’s and Don’ts to follow When Confronting an Employee for Reasonable Suspicion

There are a few basic do’s and don’ts when confronting an employee for reasonable suspicion.

You may have contemplated this scenario on previous occasions but said nothing. As a supervisor, you have a responsibility to maintain a safe, secure and productive work environment. It is your job to evaluate the performance and discuss these evaluations with the employee. As a supervisor, you need to ensure you protect the employee’s privacy. Read the rest of this entry »

Alcohol on the Breath: What It Means and What It Doesn’t Mean

Do not think just because an employee has alcohol on the breath they have been drinking or are drunk.

Alcohol is odorless. Since it has no smell, what you may identify as alcohol is actually any number of other aromas, things we general find in alcoholic drinks (besides the alcohol). The smell of non-alcoholic beer on the breath is the same as alcoholic beer. Even law enforcement officers have found the strength of someone’s alcoholic breath is completely unrelated to how much alcohol they have in their system. Read the rest of this entry »