Random Drug Test Issues
Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 10:57 am
In a recent court case in the U.S., the plaintiff lost his job because he failed to give a sample in a workplace random drug test. He tried to sue for unfair dismissal, but lost the case. The judge ruled that he had not notified his employer beforehand that he suffered from shy bladder syndrome, and so the judge found in the employer's favour.
This puts sufferers of paruresis in a more difficult position, because unless they tell their employer beforehand that they have the problem, the U.S. courts will not support them in this type of circumstance. Yet they may feel that disclosing paruresis suggests to the employer that they are a "weak" person, and so this may put their career advancement at a disadvantage.
On a few occasions I have been approached by paruresis sufferers to write them a letter as the President of the Paruresis Association of Australia which they can then present to their employer. Usually the person has been known to me because they attended one of our annual weekend workshops, or they attend an official support group or they are a paid-up member of the Association ($10 a year). Although I have, so far, always provided such a letter, I think it counts for little if none of those conditions apply. And even if they do apply, the letter may not count for all that much - because how can you really tell if a person has paruresis? Even some medical authorities will state that the condition does not exist, and that any claim is bogus. One female member of the U.S. military could not produce a sample in a random drug test. In her panic she drank a vast amount of water, and the effect of all that water on her body system was that she died.
On a slightly different slant on things - I have twice now, as President of the Paruresis Association of Australia, sent emails to trade union officials trying to interest them in the plight of union members who have paruresis and so would have a problem with random drug tests. Neither of them had the courtesy to even acknowledge my email.
JohnW
This puts sufferers of paruresis in a more difficult position, because unless they tell their employer beforehand that they have the problem, the U.S. courts will not support them in this type of circumstance. Yet they may feel that disclosing paruresis suggests to the employer that they are a "weak" person, and so this may put their career advancement at a disadvantage.
On a few occasions I have been approached by paruresis sufferers to write them a letter as the President of the Paruresis Association of Australia which they can then present to their employer. Usually the person has been known to me because they attended one of our annual weekend workshops, or they attend an official support group or they are a paid-up member of the Association ($10 a year). Although I have, so far, always provided such a letter, I think it counts for little if none of those conditions apply. And even if they do apply, the letter may not count for all that much - because how can you really tell if a person has paruresis? Even some medical authorities will state that the condition does not exist, and that any claim is bogus. One female member of the U.S. military could not produce a sample in a random drug test. In her panic she drank a vast amount of water, and the effect of all that water on her body system was that she died.
On a slightly different slant on things - I have twice now, as President of the Paruresis Association of Australia, sent emails to trade union officials trying to interest them in the plight of union members who have paruresis and so would have a problem with random drug tests. Neither of them had the courtesy to even acknowledge my email.
JohnW