What exactly should you do as a supervisor when an employee is drunk on the job or under drugs? The reasonable thing to do is to take action as per the company’s policies. So, you need to have the facts at hand. The other important thing that you need to do is document your observation and the actions taken. This is never an easy thing and that’s why you need reasonable DOT suspicion training. The training gives you the skills for handling an ‘under the influence’ situation at work. In as far as documenting the events is concerned, here are the basic steps to follow:

Step 1 — Listen and Observe

You’ll probably hear other employees airing their concerns pertaining to another employee who’s suspected of being under influence. So, you need to listen to what they say and get all the facts right. Afterward, you need to confirm the suspicion by observing the behavior of the employee. You need to note any unusual manners.

Step 2 — Isolation

Once you’ve confirmed your suspicion by observation, you should isolate the suspected employee. You should at least move him or her to a less safety-sensitive place so as to avoid any kind of accident.

Step 3 — Documentation

At this stage, you should record your observations in writing. This is with respect to things like smell, action, speech changes, eye appearances, and body movements. Every observation at this stage should be documented.

Step 4 — Assessment

Once the problem has been documented, you need to assess its severity as you decide on the next step to take. You should try to find the reason why the worker is intoxicated and why he or she continues to come to work in such a state knowing that it against the organization’s regulations. You also need to document the finding.

Step 5 — Explanation

If the employee is in a position to understand, explain to them what you are suspecting. Let them know that you are considering taking them to the clinic for a drug test. Let them also know what will happen if the tests are positive.

Step 6 — Testing

Lastly, you should accompany the suspected employee to your preferred clinic to have the drug test. Wait for the results and document them before taking any measures against the employee in accordance with the company’s policy.

If you take up reasonable DOT suspicion training, you’ll cover the above steps for documenting reasonable suspicion at work. They generally make you a better supervisor since you’ll do everything reasonably. It shows that you are really in control of your department.