Posted by shelliR on September 28, 2001, at 13:53:14
In reply to Re: New job... drug test required and how to explain » TomV, posted by paxvox on September 28, 2001, at 12:29:33
> I am a Federal manager that deals with hiring employees at times. Believe me, you HAVE to be honest and upfront with them. If you lie, they can fire you later for lying. If you don't mention the conditions, you will fail drug screening, and they won't hire you.
I think this is very bad advice. Tony is under no obligation to reveal anything. That is not called lying; it is called respecting your right to keep personal things personal. I believe that we have a right to privacy in this country. Unless an illness directly impacts on a job, it is none of the employer's business what medical conditions are present or which medications their employees are taking for what ailments. And if Tony fails the drug test because of xanax, that is the time to "confess" to a minor sleep disorder, but only if that comes up as a question. It really shouldn't. The point of a drug test is not to find out what prescribed drugs are being given to this person, but to discover if this person is using illegal and unauthorized substances: whether he has a drug dependency problem, and/or has broken the law.
So PAX, I am curious, when you hire people, do make them fill out a questionaire listing all possible physical and emotional conditions? Because that is the only way an omission could be interpreted as lying Insisting that everyone fill out such a sheet seems to me to be unethical. That's why physicians records are confidential. The conditions that a physician is treating a patient for, are recognized as being extremely personal. A patient must sign a form to release this information and that release is generally given for only consultations with other doctors.
> Now the good news: It is against the law to discriminate against people with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) even makes it illegal to deny a job opportunity based soley upon a disability. Psychiatric disorders are considered disabilites by law, because they interfer with a major area of one's life. NOT making your disability known keeps you from enjoying the protection of the ADA. If you want to see the rules, go to the EEOC home page, or search engines and look up ADA. There are specific guidelines for psychiatric disabilities.
> You may think it's best to try and get by, or you may want to avoid the stigma deal of being labeled a "crazy" person. However, I believe there is a paradigm shift going on in our culture that is begining to understand mental illness is not our fault, or something that we have done wrong, etc.....Chemicals,that's about it.Well, when does a condition become a disability? Tony's question is not about having his job opportunites denied, it is about having his privacy protected. If Tony used viagra for a sexual disfunction, would this also be something you would expect him to come clean with in accepting a job offer. I truely do not understand.
PAX, I am having a difficult time understanding where you are coming from, especially in your position that suggests that any person who does not reveal his/her medical history is "lying".
Shelli
poster:shelliR
thread:79772
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010927/msgs/79828.html