Mrs. Smither Case Study

Mrs. Smither has been a model employee for 20 years and is currently under a tremendous amount of stress. Protecting the company from liability is of the utmost importance. However, the company has an ethical responsibility to assist employees in a reasonable manner when they are going through rough patches like this. Legally, allowing Mrs. Smither to continue her normal duties making calls could cost the company customers and possible fines, if the new don't call laws are broken. Ethically, allowing her to spiral out of control while standing by doing nothing is unacceptable.

As per the ADA an alcoholic is considered a person with a disability. Mrs. Smither is entitled to reasonable accommodation if she can perform her job duties. Unfortunately, at this point, without some intervention she could be disciplined or fired due to her inability to perform her duties unimpaired. I would suggest the following plan of action:

1. Meeting with Mrs. Smither immediately to address the performance concerns.

2. Require an alcohol test (breathalyzer or other method) as per the Drug Free Policy in place in the office.

3. If suspicions are validated, immediately remove Mrs. Smither from current duties.

a. Doing this does not mean she has to be immediately fired. She could be given a special project to complete while she is working through her issues. Doing this allows you to reduce the probability that she'd make a mistake with the don't call registry. It also allows you to reach out to a good employee who is having a hard time personally and needs someone to reach out to her to try to help.

4. Make Mrs. Smither aware of EAP and the opportunities this valuable benefit offers employees at no cost to them.

a. EAP offers a lot of the help she would need; referrals to legal experts, support groups, addiction assistance as well as individual and family counseling.

5. Obtain commitment from Mrs. Smither that she will address drinking problems, seek counseling and refrain from being impaired in the office.

6. Develop a plan of action for check points to check on Mrs. Smithers progress (without violating any privacy rules) to ensure she is doing well and is on track to get back to her normal duties.

7. Set the expectation that the company has a zero tolerance policy and any further violation will lead to disciplinary action up to possible termination.

8. Ensure that all employees are well aware of the assistance EAP can offer and are aware of the company's Drug Free Policy.

References

United States Department of Labor. (2011). Disability Resources. Retrieved November 09, 2011, from http://myeclassonline.com/re/DotNextLaunch.asp?courseid=5878749&userid=8933046&sessionid=2c69f2662d&tabid=vGuU0H0v5twlrFLy9COfo24yAt53B0lZYXOvCdZI2miOCdKJgK/au73iV9x5uoEQBqBEHPYLFOXWR4UO+dZ/sA==&sessionFirstAuthStore=true&macid=ds6UO4Ubgb2hu7cZcji0yGhpaksOrTMEbLPaYnkTJyPA0b//6Hy7chS8cS2xYk/jNDE8/tbDSSRVRAgC7E3gLZ7jpJ4XuFFfik4c8zf7t/MFLMWmcD82IzKL3wEOjKPX7BHx3ZauwPXAdBoeDVZNXJwTv6kI7ej+mj85nApdQs1BF5y8ZJoTeF76vPq64ZpkkCRL52ZSLj8pRQVq4NuA+hJFs4T8X6oL+kaFi0xHM840daE3xlQfU+hF5gwsjG3r