Working while drugged? (employee, owner, employers, job)

[Disgustedman]

Was curious as to how some saw this.

Ever have anyone work at a job that took painkillers at work and how did your company deal with it?

I know most companies won't permit anyone on any sort of "Narcotic" drug operate machinery, but we know that it still happens...

[Hemlock140]

It depends on the kind of work, if we knew or suspected that someone operating equipment was on drugs we'd test them. In my office we suspected that one of my employees was using medical marijuana for a condition, by the smell and behavior, but before I got around to involving HR she transferred to another department.

[Disgustedman]

I'm sorry, I was leaning more to working while on legal medications.

For a reason, I take vicodin. Yes, I work in a deli with slicers. But I made sure the manager knew and those whole team did. I told them that if they did see me acting "Off" to yank me from them. So far nothing has happened. I'm not "Floating" around either. Pain is a 3 compared to an 8.

Hoping in 2-3 weeks can stat getting treatment at a local Oriental college medicine clinic. $25 a pop visits and this beats chiropractic at $90 a week. No narcotics, but will be a most interesting experience.

[andywire]

I'm sure it happens.

I have worked at shops where many of the workers would drive around and smoke marijuana. Nothing secretive about it either, as the smell was an obvious give away. At one place, the owner was a former coke dealer, so I'm sure a blind eye was always turned.

It's more difficult to tell if someone is using narcotic pain killers. I did work with someone who had to take strong painkillers for a leg injury. They drove forklifts and company vehicles, but did not operate machinery other than a saw. It didn't seem to effect the person, since they have been taking the drug for years.

[s1alker]

I work in supermarkets on the third shift. Practically everyone is high on something, even the managers. It's a miserable job for most people.

[anadyr21]

I've been taking narcotics almost consistently for 4 years for a medical condition. As long as you're not operating heavy or dangerous machinery, and it's not affecting your work or behavior, why would it matter? For my previous brick and mortar job, I had no reason to inform them of this and didn't want to give them any potential ammo against me. If it ever became an issue and I was asked for a drug test, as long as the reason for the request didn't violate ADA or HIPPA laws, I would have taken the test and provided the prescription.

Part of my previous job also involved handling cases where employees (from other companies) were suspected of using drugs, both illegal and prescription. The complaints were generally made when it was clearly affecting the person's work or behavior. When known, the complainer would stress that the employee in question had a legit condition, and usually expressed empathy over having to report the problem. In quite a few situations, employers would then work with the employee in question, to make things safe for everyone involved. The ones caught using recreational drugs were fired.

[cub81015]

Wow!