Pre Employment Drug Testing?

Fruitbowl

Fruitbowl

Treehouser
Joined
Apr 19, 2008
Messages
70
Location
N. Arizona
I am getting fed up with the number of new hires that can't keep their drug and alcohol intake in check. I hired a climber a while back and his first day while driving with me in my rig to the job I asked him if he smoked dope. He said yes. I then asked him if he smoked that day before coming to work. He said yes. I thanked him for his honesty and told him that wouldn't be acceptable in my business. He told me not to worry because it doesn't really affect him!?!?!?! Well it did. His attention to detail was much better in the afternoon when he wasn't stoned. Do you guys drug test or get drug tested? Moderation doesn't concern me but the daily burner hasn't really worked out for me. Same with smelling like they closed the bar the night before. What do you guys think?
 
That has been the bane of our industry since it was an industry. People who aren't high all the time get easier, better paying jobs.
 
Too many chances to screw when working impaired! We had two real bad experiences with stoned climbers cutting their lines about 10 years ago. Both climbers weren't using their steel core flip lines while pruning Palms. First guy cut his climbing line after deciding to cut a few more fronds just prior to descending and fell 40 ft. Chain link fence and some shrubs broke his fall. Leg broken and back issues . Recovered and is climbing for Bartlett now.

Second guy cut his line on a hurricane clean up job in Antigua west Indies. Sparked up after breakfast and cut his line in the first Coconut Palm of the day. Fell straight to the beach from 35' and crushed a brand new ms200 with his hip. Spent months in the hospital and ended up staying in the west Indies.

Bottom line is that tree work requires your utmost attention ALL THE TiME and being stoned or drugged is a recipe for disaster.
 
Until drug testing DOESN'T SCREW YOU for what you do in your OFF TIME, I say FRIG IT!

All it is is a way for worker's comp to get out of having to do what they're supposed to do.
 
Still something inherently unfair with testing...a pot smoker who did"t smoke before work, probably fail. Whereas the drinker who drank enough the night before to be a complete lethargic hung over mess, probably pass.
 
One thing I noticed many years ago, if you jump on the freeway very early in the morning, the people that are sailing in to work then, seem to drive nicer cars than the ones doing the just like everybody else and stuck in the heavy traffic that happens at a later hour. Some statement about initiative there. The point is that I like the idea of people being able to think and decide for themselves about how they want to run the race, and if thinking for yourself doesn't tend to put you in a more advantageous position for productivity and safety, especially when working with others, compared to being ordered around, then it is better to get used to it and take advantage of being ordered around.
 
I'm trying to still figure it out myself. I guess what I meant to say is that smart people don't use drugs while working at hazardous tasks, and there are some smart people out there. Others not smart enough to not do that, more likely drive beat up cars.
 
Having commercial trucks, I am required to do pre emp and random testing, it has helped me find more qualified people. One of the first questions out of my mouth is if they can pass these. Ends the interview so often, but a few still slip through and down the road they go. Never been any hard feelings, they know up front. One wife had hard feelings but the husband knew how it was, he felt bad. I can't do this but a local drug free landscape outfit has a good system. Someone wants a job, he tells them to bring him a current driving record and a current drug screening on their own dime. You know a guy wants a job if he does that
 
I been sober 8 years and I expect my workers to show up ready to work and not intoxicated, or go home it's that simple. Don't want that headache around me, had my time and it wasn't fun in the end. What a person does on their own time is their business, just don't bring it to my job. It's difficult finding climbers or groundies in this country who don't drink or drug ( mostly weed ). As Brian said, they would be in another job most times if they didn't. At least that is what I see here.
 
im clean, need a contract climber?.
.where i lived b4, i gave up on even messing with testing for weed, everyone walked away, had to draw the line somewhere..so narcotics and alcahol were the unacceptables
 
To think that what an individual does on their own time has no impact on performance in the workplace is dumb. Even staying up late, poor diet, continual marital problems can impact an emploees perfomance, particulary in a job with our potential exposure level. So I would say that for those that think that burning a couble spliffs of the fine ass Kush, or pounding a "six-pack" or as I am partial to do having a 2-3 snorts of Makers and thinking that it doesnt affect reasoning or reaction time during the day, then you are not sizing the situation up correctly.
 
Still what someone does with their free time is their business, when it affects an employee's performance then it becomes the owner's business. Down here in the islands, if you get that picky you will be doing all the work youself. I try to get the lesser of two evils, if ya catch my drift. I certainly was not condoning drug or alcohol use, far from it. I am certainly entitled to earn a living, and that means I need a team to get my tree work done. Therefore I pick the best of what I am handed. It is not like dudes are lining up to do this work are they? At least not down here.
 
It amazes me that in the same country, where people are constantly going on and on about the rights and freedoms of the individual ( particularly in Tampa recently!!) you can ask people to submit to drug testing.

What happened to the holy freedom of the individual to do as he/she/it damned well pleases in private?

Indulging at work or showing up stoned/drunk will get you fired here, but testing to see if people had a joint in their free time is not done, unless you are a professional athlete.
 
You see that's why I love it down here, no BIG BROTHER up you azz. People need to be who they are, if a dude want's to burn a spliff after a hard days work who am I to judge. If he wants to unwind with a nice rum and coke with his buds after work, who am I to judge. He/she has put in their time and done a good job so off ya go. I need to be tolerant of others and the different ways they choose to live. If their behavior affects their performance well that is a whole new kettle of fish. One of my groundies is a very likeable hard working Rastafarian, who puts in his time and works like a horse on fire. Should I tell him he is fired if after work he heads home and smokes his weed. I think not, but to each his own. He has put in four solid years for me and has never missed a day's work and performs his duties outstandingly.
 
swingdude said:
I need to be tolerant of others and the different ways they choose to live. If their behavior affects their performance well that is a whole new kettle of fish. .
Click to expand...

Agreed. But, choices that individuals make, home life, etc. can sometimes affect performance. To think otherwise just because folks are free men is not a path to reaching the objective. I have on several occasions had conversations with emplyees about the choices they were making in their off time, and how it was having a negative impact on the team. And, beacause I believe in personal liberty, they would always be given a choice. Get your shit in order or kindly move on.
 
...the Ski industry is full of the same issues, the resort I work for can and will do post incident testing. Basically turning a blind eye at hiring.
 
It's the same old of the people that can't do things intelligently, messing it up for the ones that can, and that applies to intoxicants. If a person can control their use off the job, so that it doesn't negatively impact what happens at work, then enjoy! The quality of restraint is something that gets lost on a lot of humans. I agree with Dave, that in other areas too, there is carry over from home life to working, and from working to the home. I know that with myself, when things aren't going so great at home, it effects my work, and to a degree, vice versa. Stress can definitely do a number on your brain in all walks of life.
 
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