UCSF has a drug-free workplace policy. If there is concern that an employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol while at work, the Nursing Supervisor should be contacted immediately.
UCSF has a detailed procedure for proper management of situations involving suspected impairment of an employee. That procedure can be found here.
All instructions in the above policy should be followed when meeting with an employee who is suspected of impairment. Some important points include:
- Packets with all information for managing an incident with an employee suspected of impairment are located in a binder in the Nursing Supervisor office. This packet should be read and completed before meeting with the employee.
- A private meeting must be conducted with the employee and two Non-Represented (non-union) employees. On day shift, this can be the BCH Supervisor and Unit Director or Assistant Unit Director. On night shift, the Security Supervisor or Adult Resource Nurse are available to assist.
- Represented nurses who are “filling in” as BCH Supervisor may not conduct meetings with employees suspected of impairment. In this case, two of the individuals listed above will need to hold the meeting with the impaired employee.
- The events surrounding an impaired employee’s conduct in the workplace can be sensitive, and must be confidential. Details of the incident, including the employee’s conduct leading to the meeting, and the meeting itself, should be kept in strict confidence. The Nursing Supervisor should remind staff present during these events not to share them with other employees.
- Taxi vouchers are included in each packet, and the employee should be instructed to use the voucher to go to the lab and then to their home.
- After the impaired employee is placed on investigatory leave following the attached procedure, the employee’s Unit Director or direct manager should be notified via email. Include as much relevant detail as possible, as this will assist in follow-up. This email should also be sent to Labor and Employee Relations. The current LER representative to contact is Mandeep Dhaliwal.
- Three copies of all employee paperwork should be made and kept in the original envelope for the packet, and kept in the Supervisor office until picked up by an LER rep.
- For questions or concerns, please contact the Patient Care Director on call, LER, or the employee’s Unit Director.