Sober Second Chance

Here’s a scenario. Your company makes house calls on sick computers. If an employee was charged with drunk driving over the weekend, who is liable if they drive a company car on Monday? An established policy will walk you through the appropriate procedures, but it has to be in place and tailored to your needs. Check with other companies and professional associations for tips on how to write a policy. One good resource is the Construction Owners of Alberta’s best practice drugs and alcohol guidelines. It’s a basic policy that provides a supervisor’s guide and an employee guide, and it was tweaked by the law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP.

“Having a policy helps people recognize (that) addictions are a disease and a safety issue,” says EAP specialist and psychologist Meg Hinton of Kelly, Lutmer and Associates. “A policy in place helps people understand the parameters and mitigates the risk of liability versus negligence.”

“The policy doesn’t have to be onerous, but it does have to be right for the company,” says psychologist and EAP specialist Joanelle Corbett of Janus Associates. There are a lot of hidden liability issues around the workplace that employers should clarify, she says. “If a company manager suspects an employee is abusing alcohol or drugs but does nothing and an accident happens, that manager and the company can be sued up the wazoo,” says Corbett. “Employees, families, investors can take them to court, so you need to be very attuned to that.”

Identifying and documenting infractions should be high on the priority list. At Scott Springfield, supervisors record absences and “incidents” at work like showing up drunk. (“Put them in a cab,” says Dressler, “and send them home.”) A third infraction nets you a three-day suspension without pay. A fourth means you’re fired.

After Goertz opened up, Dressler researched addiction treatment facilities on the Internet for several hours, then handed over a list. After a series of phone calls and several weeks on a waiting list, Goertz entered the eight-week treatment program at Calgary’s Fresh Start Recovery Centre. While there, he received a percentage of his pay through the company’s health benefits plan under the short-term disability umbrella.

When employers believe they have a problem on their hands, they can have employees assessed by professionals, usually occupational health therapists. Assessments, counseling and treatments are all part of most employee assistance programs. But at smaller companies that don’t have full-blown EAPs, supervisors and managers have to find alternatives. Their choices include EAP agencies that provide programs on a fee-for-service basis, says Hinton. The service typically involves assessment by an occupational health nurse, who will make recommendations for treatment and then do follow-up and out-patient counseling. These programs help employers establish boundaries and concentrate on work performance, not an employee’s personal life. “EAPs allow you to do your job,” says Hinton, “and let someone else do the work they’re trained to.”

Policies no one is aware of are almost useless, of course. Key personnel should be trained and understand how to respond properly. That’s because workplace interventions are often more fruitful than interventions at home. People seem to be more willing to lose their family than their job, and given the opportunity will return as grateful and loyal employees. Chances are better with the worker who was an asset before succumbing to an addiction, however, and there are no guarantees. Dressler brought back one employee back after an 18-month absence with assurances that he had straightened out, only to have the man disappear two days and one paycheck later.

Following up after treatment is just as important as the therapy itself. Not everyone will recover in 28 days, and employers need to be prepared to offer flex time, or creative post-treatment work schedules, says Katerina Renny of the Aventa Addiction Treatment for Women. “The reality is that it’s a long road,” she says. “If you value them as an employee, you’ll do it.”

Aventa offers four-week, in-house treatment programs for women, with post-treatment follow up. The not-for-profit agency charges on a sliding scale, with a minimum $15 per day fee for its residential program. It offers a month-long program for $150 for a day. The facility’s 36 beds are always full, and there is a two to three week waiting list. Aventa’s programs are specifically designed around women’s issues, such as abuse and solitary drinking; women tend to hide their addictions more than men, Renny says. They also are less likely to seek help – often out of fear that their children may be apprehended by social services – or follow up after treatment because they lack the means for babysitters and transportation. A supportive employer can make all the difference by allowing flexible schedules so an employee can come in early to leave earlier, or work later to accumulate time for afternoon sessions.

“The best candidate for recovery is one that is honest and willing,” says Stacy Peterson, the Fresh Start Treatment Centre’s executive director. “Willingness is linchpin.” The Fresh Start eight-week program for men is based on Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12-step program and is highly structured, with curfews, chores and meditation on top of its basic treatment regime. The privately-funded 28-bed facility has a two-week to one-month waiting list, and a day program with no waiting list. Most people are referred by health care facilities, insurance companies or are self referred. Calls from businesses like Scott Springfield are an anomaly, Peterson says.

One of Fresh Start’s objectives is to develop a program to make recovering addicts employment ready and teach them basic life skills. Garth Gillespie, the centre’s program director, is also developing a workshop for employers on how to deal with substance abusers in the workplace. The key word for him is compassion. Employers will get a better response if they approach addicts with openness and support, says Gillespie. The benefits are tangible. “In the long run, these men and women that combat the problem turn out to be some of the best and loyal workers,” he says. “And what the employer is giving to the greater community is the ripple effect. For each person, 20 people are impacted.”

While there are a number of treatment centres out there, there’s no one-agency-fits-all solution. Recovery Acres, Youville, Sunrise Aboriginal Services and AADAC are among the most prominent treatment centres, but programs like AA, Narcotics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous are also readily available. Employers can demand proof that employees are actively seeking help as part of a “treatment pact,” but the boss needs to be realistic about timelines. “The whole goal,” says Scott Springfield’s Mike Dressler, “is a fighting chance to get better.”

When Goertz returned to work after three months of rehabilitation, he felt embarrassed, but management had kept his condition confidential. People assumed he was off sick, a diagnosis Goertz agrees with. Addiction is a disease, he says, and he’s telling his story so that others don’t have to suffer in silence.

Looking back at his murky past, Goertz is amazed nobody ever got hurt while he was under the influence, considering that he worked with overhead cranes and bandsaws. “I think the guy upstairs likes me,” he says. “Now life is fantastic. I tell people my mind is still repairing itself, but I feel so good, so alive.”

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