Boozing
At Work
Q:
Our manufacturing employees work around the clock and we recently
discovered that several night shift employees were bringing alcohol
to work and consuming it during their evening break. These employees
work around heavy equipment and their alcohol consumption could
have endangered other employees. We did a company-wide investigation
and implemented disciplinary action, suspending several of the
participants. Yesterday, a suspended employee came into my office
to disclose that she has been treated for alcoholism in the past
and has a serious drinking problem. She asked that her discipline
be rescinded because she views her alcoholism as a medical problem,
and she asked for a medical leave to enter rehab. My vice-president
is freaked that this employee is covered under the A.D.A. and
has grounds to sue us because she was disciplined. What do we
do?
A:
According to the EEOC Guidance on the ADA and Psychiatric Disabilities,
alcoholism is covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
A medical leave to receive substance abuse treatment is likely
to be a valid and reasonable accommodation for her condition.
However, this does not mean your employee has the right to consume
alcohol on company promises or to escape disciplinary action if
she does in the future. Always check with your corporate counsel
before implementing any of these recommendations:
- Encourage
and support her request for substance abuse treatment. However,
make sure she knows that accommodation is prospective and not
retroactive and, as such, she may still be subject to discipline
for violating company policy.
- Make
sure your company has a very specific conduct policy along with
clear consequences for violating it.
- Make
your E.A.P. readily available to your employees through brown
bag lunches and literature that outlines their services and
the resources they can provide for mental health and substance
abuse problems.
Who's
Reviewing Who?
Q:
I was promoted to manager six months ago and just conducted a
performance review for an employee who has been a problem from
day 1. Technically, he's a whiz, which is why he's been treated
with kid gloves in the past. However, he's the most negative,
argumentative, person I've ever met and I spent quite a bit of
time counseling him about his conduct and his problems fitting
in with the team. Well, this morning, he waltzed in my office
and demanded a chance to rebut his review. Should I let him?
A:
From a psychologist's point of view, my answer is "yes." Not only
will it give him a chance to air his side of the story, it will
show him that he's being treated fairly, which may make it harder
for him to complain about unfair treatment in the future. In addition,
according to employment law attorney Michael Maslanka, there are
at least 3 good legal reasons for allowing Mr. Argumentative a
chance to air his grievances:
- It's
desirable for an employer to have a copy of any document, which
the employee could use in a lawsuit.
- If
he's given the opportunity to provide a written rebuttal, but
doesn't, then he's arguably conceding you're right.
-
A written version pins the employee down on his version of what's
happened and makes it difficult to change his story at a later
date.
"Us"
Against "Them"
Q:
An employee came to see me recently threatening to sue our company
for race discrimination and racial harassment. Apparently, one
of my managers did a performance review and gave an African American
employee very poor ratings, including comments like "you don't
act like one of us" and "you aren't a team player." The rest of
the team happens to be Caucasian and the employee immediately
heard these as racist remarks. According to the manager, the employee
is a marginal employee who is often hostile and irritable around
team members and his comments were related to his inability to
function as an effective team member -- not directed at his race.
Now, he's afraid to discipline this employee at all.
A:
- Train,
train, train. Use this mistake as an opportunity to train your
managers on performance management and discipline. If your managers
use a rating system, make sure they have concrete examples of
what constitutes a "1" or a "10."
-
Have a meeting that includes the employee and the manager so
that the current situation can be resolved. Let both parties
air their grievances, then clarify the performance expectations
for the future. If bad feelings seem insurmountable, consider
allowing the employee to transfer to another manager.
-
Consider having the manager's supervisor review his performance
evaluations for a time period to guard against personal prejudices
or racial biases.
