Employee doing pills

We all want to be a "good guy" and not cause him any undue harm such as losing his job. However, he's relying on just that in order to continue doing whatever he wants without any regard for the consequences to others, namely the business that employs him. At the least, he is doing harm to the business reputation. Others will have seen him snorting in the company vehicle and draw conclusions about the company and all the employees, not just him.

Your own your company's time and being paid to perform in it's best interests. The immediate response would be to tell him the moment the dope comes out to stop. Right then and right there. That is the time to "have a discussion with him". As for letting the supervisor know, that's the next step. That you tell someone to stop and to presume that while not in your presence they will is naive. Unless it is in your job description to mentor, coach or otherwise supervisor the other members of the crew then it is your job to report actions and activities that are to the detriment of the company.

While it's crappy to be in this situation that was not of your doing. It all comes back to his actions. Let him be accountable for them.
 
Here's a work experience that I had one time. I was working with a small crew of four or five guys, plus a foreman and his right hand man. It was a construction job, in the downtown area of a large city. We were to meet up on the street at 6:00 am, in late fall, early winter, if I recall correctly. This location was probably at least 30 miles from where each of us lived, and probably much more for some of the crew.

All but one of the crew was standing in the correct location, probably at least 10 minutes early. One guy showed up approximately two minutes past the appointed time. The foreman climbed all over him for being late. That is the amount of slack and forbearance I'm used to seeing in my working life.

I would refuse to be a passenger in a vehicle driven by a person whom I knew to be under the influence of a narcotic. It might be the last trip I ever get to take, if I did. I'd be cursing at myself for getting in the vehicle as the event that was about to end my life unfolded in front of me.

No slack.

Tim
 
And then we have Colorado and Washington where recreational pot is legal. What is going to happen there? Scenario: end of the day, job is finished up, someone rolls a blunt and starts to pass it around the crew cab. Do I really want to be a passenger in that vehicle? You decide.
 
oldoakman said:
And then we have Colorado and Washington where recreational pot is legal. What is going to happen there? Scenario: end of the day, job is finished up, someone rolls a blunt and starts to pass it around the crew cab. Do I really want to be a passenger in that vehicle? You decide.
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I would prefer it to a beer. Don't partake myself but did in another life and it's not as cloudy on grass than alcohol. Just to add my experience if you truly wonder oakman. Pills, depends on what pills some are good for driving others really make it impossible to operate machinery of any type.
 
TreeLogic said:
Right. But don't forget we're talking about "snorting" the pills.
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Well, once again, just for knowledge sake. Snorking to me would indicate, amphetamines which could make your driving skills better. But come on, I know, I would so throw the jack ass out of my truck any which way. You can't help attics they must seek help for themselves.
 
I know. People snort hydrocodone too. Ultimately though, if they're snorting it, it's getting in their bloodstream much faster than prescribed, and they're probably taking way more than prescribed. Even if it were Adderall, I could imagine a jacked up, tweeked out truck driver being pretty problematic too. It's not just depressants and opiates that are the problem.
 
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I just threw the question out for S&G. We tout the drug free workplace/company, but what happens now in CO and WA when the person is legally toking up in their off time and then gets popped in a random test? Personally I have never used, nor intend to but have been popped for a random a numbers of times. Just the luck of the draw.
 
While it may be legal as a recreational, that doesn't include a blunt for the ride home or that the company will have to accept users as employees. It's a dangerous job (like that needs to be said) and more often than not people are in the care and control of equipment that can cause serious harm to anyone and everyone nearby.

Yeah, the whole he's the only one with a CDL argument is a crock. So what, pay for someone to go get the training and then the license. Someone reliable, drug free and will be thrilled to have the added skill.

Don't be a hostage to someone else's dysfunctions.
 
This is the elephant in the room. We still have driving under the influence laws. Weed can stay in the system for over a month depending on regularity of use, metabolism, and body fat.. Some countries use a swab test to see if you have smoked in the past day or so. To the best of my knowage we don't do that here, and it's a piss test or blood which both require probable cause and arrest.
 
If someone wants to smoke a little on the weekends I don't really have a problem with that. It would be nice if there were some better tests for that ie, something that shows a present intoxication, and not just penalizing people for days old usage.
 
If you're riding back to the shop in the company truck, you're still working, so that's not a proper venue for a beer, a shot, a blunt, or snorking up no-doz or anything which will impair your judgement and reaction times, regardless of the laws of the state you're in. Clear-headed sound judgement is the standard I hold myself, and my associates to.. portal to portal. These are conversations, which need to take place between employers and employees, if they've not already taken place. If an employer hasn't been crystal clear on setting and enforcing the standard, then they're leaving it up to the employees to do it.
 
Chevyrob said:
I started working for the company I'm at just over a month ago. The kid who drives the bucket since he has a CDL is doing pills on the job. Im not a snitch and hate to see someone lose their job since he's a nice kid but, he's snorting these things while driving the bucket. It's happened 2 or 3 times that I've seen. How should I go about handling this?
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So what's happening/ happened with this situation?
 
oldoakman said:
And then we have Colorado and Washington where recreational pot is legal. What is going to happen there? Scenario: end of the day, job is finished up, someone rolls a blunt and starts to pass it around the crew cab. Do I really want to be a passenger in that vehicle? You decide.
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Can you guys smoke in company vehicles? That's banned here
 
oldoakman said:
I just threw the question out for S&G. We tout the drug free workplace/company, but what happens now in CO and WA when the person is legally toking up in their off time and then gets popped in a random test? Personally I have never used, nor intend to but have been popped for a random a numbers of times. Just the luck of the draw.
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Does your company have a policy against it? Pot may be legal but so is rum, but my wednesday afternoons and saturday nights I'm noticeably different. Time and place for everything and everyone if you are in to that kinda thing.
 
Boomslang said:
I'm a firm believer in addressing the source of the problem first. Talk to the kid and tell him how it affects not just his safety, but the safety of everyone around him while he's operating and that you won't tolerate it. If he gives you attitude or you see he keeps popping or if you even suspect he's still popping go to your boss.
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It's good to be able to take it to the source, but this is clearly a dicey situation. On the one hand it shows compassion that you worry about the employee who is doing pills, but on the other hand he is a liability and if your boss finds out that you knew about his on-the-job drug use and didn't say anything, your ass is on the line. There may be a compromise. First of all don't waste your time telling him to stop using drugs, because if you have caught him two or three times already, chances are he is probably addicted (probably opiates) and he won't be quitting any time soon (I'm just assuming based on my experience with pill addicts). If you let him know you're on to him, he will simply be more stealth about using them on the job, but that does not eliminate the fact that he is still a liability. If I were you I would approach him, tell him that you know what he is up to, and give him the opportunity to go to the boss himself and come clean about his behavior/drug addiction, etc. If he refuses to, than you should absolutely inform the boss. But at least you can say that you tried to give him a chance to man up and take responsibility for himself. And that will be the only thing you can do to help him on his road to recovery, if that's even what he wants.
 
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