October 2000

Without a firm agreement to hold some administrative action in abeyance pending her follow-through with EAP recommendations, you must focus on performance. Use future problems with attendance, quality of work, or behavior to determine your next step. Although your employee appears well after discharge from the detoxification unit, you will not be able to judge the quality of her recovery program from her enthusiasm. Maintaining abstinence and achieving lasting sobriety are difficult tasks that depend on following through with effective treatment and other steps to manage addictive disease properly. Make your employee aware of the notification given to you by the EAP, but do not discuss medical matters or the employee's reasons for non-compliance. Expect the performance standards her job requires, meet with your employee to discuss progress, and reinforce positive changes. Consult with the EAP and consider your administrative options if problems recur.

Your EAP might be able to play a helpful role. Many EAPs, with the employee's permission, will communicate with mental health professionals and assist in obtaining written requests or in authenticating their requests for accommodations or those of medical providers. Using the EAP prevents you from having to discuss details of your employee's health problem with the provider. It also prevents you from having to manage correspondence that might include diagnostic information affecting the employee's privacy. Instead, with the employee's permission, you can act on limited information made available by the EAP. The organization can then consider the accommodation, its feasibility, and burden. Your EAP or personnel office will guide you in the approach your company wishes you to follow. Some organizations may rely upon their medical office or other designated position to manage such requests. Remind the employee that the EAP is available to address the personal problem that affects him.

Since your employee has a known problem in the form of legal trouble associated with being arrested, it is appropriate to remind him about the EAP and encourage him to use it. You may or may not want to make this a supervisor referral. Remember that a supervisor referral is not a punitive act and it is based on performance issues. Being arrested is frequently considered relevant by organizations that hold employees accountable for their behaviors outside the workplace. "Behavior unbecoming" is the term used to justify administrative actions in response to such transgressions, particularly when charges end in convictions that can embarrass an organization. Alcohol-related arrests are frequently used as opportunities to refer employees to treatment. You should discuss with your supervisor or other management representatives what is fitting in response to this event.

You face a challenge that could be difficult to manage without some support. If necessary, consider using the EAP yourself if you feel stuck and incapable of taking the steps necessary to make the referral. Avoid allowing this situation to reach crisis level. You must avoid having your job become adversely affected because you postponed taking action. The steps you should follow in making a supervisor referral are no different from the steps for other employees, except you potentially face an awkward corrective interview. If you are unprepared, your employee could take advantage of your anxiety, making your task more difficult. To prepare, the EAP could provide you with support by role-playing the meeting, discussing your fears, or giving you a referral to other sources of assistance.

Within the scope of EAP principles, your employee was not forced to visit the EAP. Being forced constitutes an involuntary process. Your employee was given the option of attending the EAP and participating in its recommendations, or accepting the consequences of violating the organization's drug policy. This is called performance-based intervention. In effect, the organization is asking the employee if he would like to be accommodated for a potential health problem by visiting the EAP, or be terminated for violating the policy. Some organizations even present such an offer using this language. If an employee says there is nothing to accommodate, the employee is discharged. Obviously, the majority of employees explore their problem further rather than face termination. The success of EAPs is rooted in this approach. Within large organizations there are typically many productive employees who are success stories of performance-based intervention.

NOTES: Putting the "Happy" back in The Holidays – Avoiding stress and depression is the EAP seminar topic in November. Plan to attend now . Ca11 (615) 741-8643 for details.

If you have questions you would like answered in FrontLine Supervisor, contact the EAP Office at (615) 741-1925.

Information contained in The FrontLine Supervisor is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be specific guidance for any particular supervisor or human resource management concern. For specific guidance on handling individual employee problems, consult with your Employee Assistance Professional. Copyright ©2000 by The FrontLine Supervisor.

***ETSU NOTE: Referrals/concerns by supervisors should be made to the Office of Human Resources at ETSU, extension 5890.

Permission to post newsletter has been granted by Tennessee State Employee Assistance Program.

Mailing Address:  Office of Human Resources
ETSU Box 70564
Johnson City, TN  37614-1707
Telephone:  423-439-4457
Fax:  423-439-8354
TDD:  423-439-4710

Office Hours:  8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. E.S.T. Monday - Friday
Office Location:  Rooms 307 and 311, Dossett Hall

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Updated on 11/11/05