Just Say No . . .

[350HP930]

As some of you on the board already know I have been enjoying myself for the last few months working at a Porsche dealership as a technician after getting laid off from my IT job around christmas.

During that time my managers have come to appreciate my work well enough to where I was regularily getting preferential treatment on job assignments and some cushy after hours work doing vehicle delivery to customer's homes.

Well, in a slightly unrelated story on the fourth of july weekend I had the opportunity to get stoned and blow up stuff. I much prefer smoking over drinking and don't get a chance to do so very often so it made for a fun weekend.

Getting back to the story of my job, I was randomly selected on the following monday morning along with dozens of my fellow workers to pee in a cup as part of my employer's drug free workplace testing program.

With several days of latency to deal with I was caught red handed for my misdemeanor criminal activities.

At about 3 PM last thursay I was called into one of the upper level manager's office who I have met only once before and told that I was fired.

Sadness and farewells filled the service area as I loaded all my tools and **** into my POS escort and left a place I had grown to love. Even with my service manager fighting for me I was still out of there since there are no exceptions to the policy.

Oh well, life goes on and that which does not kill you will make you stronger. Unfortunately after a week of looking for another job I have still not found anything.

If anyone knows of any good computer, aerospace, machinist or mechanic jobs in the Tampa area or even rumors of such please do a fellow porsche lover a favor and PM me.

Hell, if it pays better than $15/hr I will even concider contruction or drywall work. Rent and car payments are due in another week or so and I am already flat broke.

Something tells me this is going to delay getting my 930 motor put back together by a few months.

[pwd72s]

Good luck in your job hunt. No sappy "take responsibility" lecture from me, since you've already done so. Hope you find something soon...

[Adam]

Good luck on the job front. I hope it works out for you soon!
I

[widebody911]

I thought it was pretty much common knowlege that companies did their 'random' testing immediately after major 'party' holidays, ie Labor Day, Memorial Day & 4th of July. While I don't adovcate the use of alternative substances, and have never used them myself, I don't think 'latency' testing should be legal. I'm all for not having people stoned/drunk/tweaked while *on* the job, but when they're on their own time, they should be able to do whatever.

My only issue with people who dabble in alternative substances are the morons who think I have weed just because I'm driving a VW bus.

[turbo6bar]

It's not your fault your employer is strict. Oh, wait, you are taking responsibility for your actions. Kudos!

Never been in your shoes, but when things are not going so well I always remind myself it could ALWAYS be worse. You are a good man, and I doubt it will take you long to rebound.

Good luck,
jurgen

[Adam]

Good point, what you do in your own time really shouldn't concern the dealership. But, I imagine they'd argue that you're working with expensive machinery and want their staff 100% clean and above reproach if anything ever happened.

It's holier-than-thou stuff, but I don't agree with it.

btw, I once heard that you could buy "clean" cups of piss on the internet!

[widebody911]

Originally posted by Adam Chaplin
btw, I once heard that you could buy "clean" cups of piss on the internet!

I had to take a pee test for my current job ('cause you just don't know how much mayhem a programmer on alternative substances can wreak! ). There's a very strict protocol that must be followed: you have to empty out all of your pockets - they damn near strip search you; the bathroom the send you into has no running water; they take the temperature of your sample immediately after you come out; they track your movements from the second they give you the cup until the second you hand it back to them, short of actually watching you make the delivery. They also tell you not to drink excessive amounts of water beforehand, or it will invalidate the test. Supposedly they also can test for the gimmicks that people can take to fool the tests; from what I've read, it's a constant battle between the testers and the companies that make stuff to beat the tests.

[350HP930]

Thanks for the positive input everyone.

I can't fault the dealership too badly since I did sign on the dotted line when it came to the drug free workplace policy. I understand them not wanting people working under the influence even though my case was clearly one of latency several days after the fact. For this reason I was very polite and apologized for violating the rules after I was fired.

Most places I have worked for have had such a policy, but it was always with a nod and a wink that there would be no suprises unless someone had a problem or an accident.

I have probably taken dozens of pee tests over the years for various jobs but due to the rarity of my toking and the ability to know about the test several days in advance it has never been a problem. This time truely caught me by suprise.

I too think that what people do on their own time should be their own business. Unfortunately we live in a country where the government frequently tells concenting adults what they can do in their free time despite the hoopla about this being the land of the free.

I will just concider myself one of the many victims of this country's stupid drug policies.

[TimT]

I like to have some poppy seed bagels every few days.

I havent had a hit of pot or acknowledged coke exists for 20 yrs

I vehemently oppose that some could be fired for latent findings, Its like second hand smoke! being in a room with someone smoking a joint could get you fired.

Your job/livelyhood shouldnt rest on an ounce of pee.

If you do great work, and are responsible, and reliable...

What you do on your own time should be your business and your business only!!


Ill have a poppy seed bagel tommorow!!!

[island911]

My first job out of school (early 90's) i took this test.
Never again will I take this test.
I figure that a company which insists on testing it's empolyees has far too much contempt and distrust. This distrust does not set the stage for a good working relationship.

The focus should be the job at hand. Beyond that (such as peeing in a cup) is just a dominance/submission game.

[jyl]

Sorry to hear that.

I do not agree with drug testing employees except in very rare circumstance (airline pilots, maybe). If a mechanic is stoned while on the job, his work will quickly show it and he'll be dealt with in the normal course. If he gets high on his own time, it is probably not going to affect his work - and if it does, it won't be any different than the guy who drank a bit too much last night, or had to get up with the new baby, or is simply pulling too much overtime and is tired. Random drug testing is wrong.

I wouldn't take a job that required drug testing. Of course when times are tough you do what you have to, but when the economy gets better employers will no longer feel like they are in the driver's seat.

Hang in there.

[pwd72s]

George Orwell was an optimist...welcome to the new millenium.

[ted]

Bummer you lost your job. Drug testing can have false positives and other serious problems.

I heard of some guys in the Service that would fill the cup then drop/spill it as they handed it to the collector. Then act as if they could not go in the time remaining before the collector had to leave.

I expect drug users have become a proven liability and insurance providers refuse to carry or only offer astronomical rates to companies that refuse to drug test employees.

In business it all comes down to profits.
The cheaper insurance rates must outweigh the cost of testing.
Today don’t the majority of businesses require drug screening?

[350HP930]

For most employers it does boil down to an extortion/insurance issue.

Even if an employer thinks that it intrudes on their employee's privacy the price break it gives them on workers compensation insurance is too large for most businesses to ignore.

[nostatic]

yet another reason to work in academia...if you don't test positive you risk being fired.

[speeder]

Sorry to hear about this, but I think that you guys have hit it on the head, (insurance issue). I can also see why they can't make an exception even though they really like you, that would leave them wide open as far as being sued by other employees that were canned for the same reason, as well as being dropped by carrier if they found out. Potential nightmare.

The irony is that even the insurance company probably doesn't really believe that weekend/evening tokers are an increased accident risk, but once again it comes down to legal liability/exposure. IF there was an accident where someone got hurt, AND the person who caused it had THC in their system, BINGO for a plaintif! Increased exposure= mucho higher rates.

[TSNAPCRACKLEPOP]

in the midwestt, in construction industry, your first positive test nearly alwawys leads to a diversion prograqm, and no job loss. in the case of auto accidenrts for commercial drivers, regional hospitals have standard protocol orderas to do drug tests on the drivers when they come in for treatment. when i drew bloood, i would conveniently "lose the artery" when drawing samoles, getting enough for my tests, but not enough for the highway partols utests.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by TSNAPCRACKLEPOP
when i drew bloood, i would conveniently "lose the artery" when drawing samoles, getting enough for my tests, but not enough for the highway partols utests.

And you're proud of this?

[Moses]

I don't use drugs, but this seems absurd to me. A company loses a valuable employee to a urine test. How does this make sense? It seems a more appropriate measure would be to offer counselling or rehab if appropriate. If it's just occaisional social use as in your case, why not a warning or probation? This seems extreme to me.

I've never been drug tested. Never. And I operate on people. Go figure.

[island911]

Yeah Moses, that's because your hospital had to rethink the whole idea of putting a placard in the window that read: "This is a Drug-Free Hospital"