Employee and Substance Abuse
Type of Employer: Tertiary healthcare facility (Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in a midwestern state)
The History of the Worker at the Company: The employee is a registered nurse (RN) who had worked for the VA for nearly 10 years. The RN received consistently outstanding reviews from her supervisors and had received regular step increases in wage and benefits.
The Precipitating Incident: The employee was observed staggering out of a patient's room and was mumbling to herself. The RN was subsequently summoned to the charge nurse's office for questioning and it was determined that she had taken several Valium that day which had been prescribed for her after her divorce 8 months ago.
Why Incident was a Clear Violation of Employer Policy: Department of Veterans Affairs' policy prohibits the misuse of prescription drugs on the job.
Likely Result of Arbitration Assuming Employee Acknowledgement of Wrongdoing: Given the RN's spotless performance record to date and acknowledgement of prescription abuse, it is likely that an arbiter would allow her to return to her job, perhaps with the condition that she participate in a 12-step program or counseling (Whitforth, 2008).
Scenario No. 2: Employee abusing employer email service
Type of Employer: Insurance company (New England)
The History of the Worker at the Company: The employee is an insurance adjuster who had worked for this company for more than 18 years, working his way up from the mailroom and by attending night school to obtain his associate's degree. Although the employee had been cited for minor human resource policy transgressions in the past (being late a few times, routinely calling in sick), his work record was otherwise good.
The Precipitating Incident: A routine analysis of employee email use determined that this insurance adjuster had been using the company's email to contact women he met in a chatroom, even sending them his semi-nude picture as an email attachment.
Why Incident was a Clear Violation of Employer Policy: The employee handbook specifically stipulates and the company's email services are to be used for official purposes only, but it does not stipulate a punishment for violation.
Likely Result of Arbitration Assuming Employee Acknowledgement of Wrongdoing: The insurance adjuster's lengthy tenure at the company, relatively good work record and the nebulosity of the employee handbook concerning punishment would likely compel an arbiter to allow him to return to his job with a clear commitment to comply with formal company policy in the future (Arnesen & Weis, 2007).
Scenario No. 3: Employee engaging in sexual harassment
Type of Employer: Pizza restaurant (West Coast)
The History of the Worker at the Company: The employee in question is an 18-year-old freshman attending a local college and working part-time evenings in this pizza restaurant specializing in fast deliveries to the nearby college campus where she attends classes. She has been on the job for less than 3 weeks.
The Precipitating Incident: An assistant manager was observed groping the 18-year-old freshman in the back of the restaurant where he had followed her after sending her for supplies. The young woman responded by hitting the assistant manager in the side of the head with a large can of tomato sauce and running from the store shouting, "I'm calling the police and you'll hear from my lawyer!"
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