Plan B Forum

I've been off of work for medical reason for about the last two months (something called 'lymphedema' in one of my legs).  It caused an open sore on my leg which became infected, so they had to
1) knock out the infection and
2) let the open wound heal itself by use of a compression wrap on the leg.

Well, they KO'ed the infection and the leg has healed, so I'm cleared to go back to work (and in fact have been back for a couple days over the weekend).  However, yesterday (Monday the 6th) they called me aside and told that I would have to undergo a drug screening again since I had been off more than one month — apparently a new clause in the contract between the 3rd-party customer service provider I work for and the major cellular carrier who is using our services.

I'm not worried; my only drug of choice is alcohol and finding this in a urinalysis is OK so far as the high muckety-mucks are concerned.  But I am surprised that since I was out with medical documentation that this would be required in the first place; makes me wonder what would happen if I had been prescribed some of the high-test painkillers (like Percocet, Vicodin, or Tylenol-3, all of which contain opiods) which would probably show up in the drug screening.

-"BB"-

As long as you have a valid prescription for said opioids then normally you'd be legally covered, though you would need to declare them and have proof. In any case opioids are one of the common false positives so often they don't even bother to check them.

I haven't had a job related urinalysis in 14 years, but I expect to have one if an employer ever decides to hire me again. In the Navy I got "randomly selected" 5-6 times a year.

Never had to take one, so I can't help

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Ouch! Edema is chronic, vexing, and serious. My aunt suffered with lymph node involvement edema and she rarely found relief for any extended period.

Due to your proven medical history it seems odd that your employer would demand a test before returning to work. What would they find... opioids, diuretics, and steroidal use? Duh! Mere physical therapy will not treat the disease into remission. (You'll probably be on drugs for life.) It may very well be that corporate wide drug tests are par for the course but under 'your' circumstances a tad excessive. However, and to me -- the resident cynic -- this sounds like a power grab, of sorts, in an attempt to let you know who's the boss thereby controlling your behavior.

You say you've been on sick leave for over two months. That's a lot of time off especially if your work group is small by standards. Is it possible that management wants to extend your leave to well over three months, and then suggest that you might do best by going on disability thereby making it almost impossible to return to your previous position at the same rate of pay?

BB, that might be the corporate position knowing that you're bound to have another flareup, probably sooner than later. You're starting to become more a liability than an asset so they are looking for a "legal" method of easing you out the door.

At this point I'd say you best turn to your union rep and explain what you're now up against. It may be your only alternative to "early retirement" which won't be too comfortable if you haven't prepared for it. I should know, it happened to me and my life changed forever. Good luck.

I've had to take a pre-employment drug screening but never to return from an injury. When I was doing forensic chemistry our lab was REALLY cheap so I 'produced' all the blanks, standards and controls for blood and urine drug and alcohol tests so you could say I was being tested every week Opiates typically show up for about 3 days in drug tests and they can tell, with some tests, which ones you are using and in what ratio. That could show that you are using prescribed opiates vs something else. There are typical ratios between morphine and codeine produced by taking heroin or opium, for one example. And the chemical difference between pure oxycodone, oxymorphone, &c you would find in prescribed drugs are easy to see. It has been a long time since I did that kind of work.

IMO employment drug screens are for lazy and incompetent managers. If someone is using drugs and it does not effect their work or professional behavior I don't care. If it does, a competent manager can deal with the performance issue. If it is someone who is valuable, who has a history, you can send them to rehab and then bring them back with conditions, if they don't have a history of being valuable I would send them to rehab and then fire them.

Sorry about the health issues BB. Does the cycling not help with this?


yrs,
rubato

Bicycle Bill wrote:... so I'm cleared to go back to work (and in fact have been back for a couple days over the weekend).  However, yesterday (Monday the 6th) they called me aside and told that I would have to undergo a drug screening again since I had been off more than one month...

Well, BB, have you taken the drug test yet?

RayThom wrote:

Bicycle Bill wrote:... so I'm cleared to go back to work (and in fact have been back for a couple days over the weekend).  However, yesterday (Monday the 6th) they called me aside and told that I would have to undergo a drug screening again since I had been off more than one month...

Well, BB, have you taken the drug test yet?

Yeah; had to do it within 24 hours so I went to the testing facility and gave them their sample Tuesday afternoon.  They said it would be 24-48 hours to process and I didn't hear anything Wednesday or Thursday, so I'm expecting to get the "all clear" later today (Friday)... although if I haven't heard anything by mid-afternoon I'll give the HR department a callback.

-"BB"-

I've had to take biannual physicals for the renewal of my Commercial Driver's License (CDL) when I was driving for pay. Sometimes those have included a piss test, sometimes not. I guess it depends on the employer.

Like I always to told them, I've been studying for a drug test all my life.

I've taken many a piss test. Worked for an aerospace company and random tests were done. When I was in in-patient and out-patient rehab piss tests were random. Poppy seeds do give false positives.
Keep records of all scripts. Might even want to hold on to any kind of vitamins (GNC???) you take.

Just in case anybody was wondering or actually gave a damn one way or the other, I finally got the results of my test back yesterday (6/15) after giving them their sample on 6/7.  Even allowing 48 hours for the testing to be done and the results to make their way back through channels, I found that surprising; especially since I had been in the office on the 9th filling out "return to work" paperwork and had been on the phone playing telephone tag with them (leaving messages but getting no response !) on the 10th and the 13th.

At first when it was taking so long I thought perhaps there was something wrong with the sample — insufficient volume, perhaps, or there might have been something in my other Rx meds that may have flagged a false positive (I currently am on daily pills for hypertension, gout, a-fib, blood thinner, and a diuretic), or maybe even the results got lost in the shuffle in getting back from the testing facility to the HR people.  Then I had the weird idea that the sample I gave them was so bland that they assumed their instruments were off and were going nuts ("What??  No THC, no opioids, no caffeine, no nicotine, no alcohol, NOTHING???  No one is THAT clean — test it again!!!")

Turns out there were more papers that had to pass between our local HR people, the regional or district offices, and the high muckety-mucks at corporate level somewhere in Texas and they had to make sure that all the 'I's were dotted and the 'T's were crossed.  Anyway, all's well that ends well, and I wound up getting a week off (without pay, but time off is still time off) out of the deal.  I'll be climbing back into my rut starting Saturday afternoon.

-"BB"-

Bicycle Bill wrote:Just in case anybody was wondering or actually gave a damn one way or the other, I finally got the results of my test back yesterday (6/15) after giving them their sample on 6/7.  Even allowing 48 hours for the testing to be done and the results to make their way back through channels, I found that surprising; especially since I had been in the office on the 9th filling out "return to work" paperwork and had been on the phone playing telephone tag with them (leaving messages but getting no response !) on the 10th and the 13th.

At first when it was taking so long I thought perhaps there was something wrong with the sample — insufficient volume, perhaps, or there might have been something in my other Rx meds that may have flagged a false positive (I currently am on daily pills for hypertension, gout, a-fib, blood thinner, and a diuretic), or maybe even the results got lost in the shuffle in getting back from the testing facility to the HR people.  Then I had the weird idea that the sample I gave them was so bland that they assumed their instruments were off and were going nuts ("What??  No THC, no opioids, no caffeine, no nicotine, no alcohol, NOTHING???  No one is THAT clean — test it again!!!")

Turns out there were more papers that had to pass between our local HR people, the regional or district offices, and the high muckety-mucks at corporate level somewhere in Texas and they had to make sure that all the 'I's were dotted and the 'T's were crossed.  Anyway, all's well that ends well, and I wound up getting a week off (without pay, but time off is still time off) out of the deal.  I'll be climbing back into my rut starting Saturday afternoon.

-"BB"-

Unlike stones, passing tests doesn't hurt.*

Glad you're back at work and paying into SSec.


yrs,
rubato

*with the exception of a pre-induction physical.