News to me

[trickykitty]

Ok, someone has to verify this for me because I've just never heard of it and I think I will have to start learning how to make a noose if it's true.

A company (in Texas and a few other states) reserves the right to fire someone if nicotine shows up on a drug screen.

I was just informed during this morning's interview with Pavestone that they treat nicotine like a drug. (Yes, txcowpatties, I interviewed with Pavestone - it's all your fault I even noticed their ad.) They couldn't tell me how long it stays in your system and they were even saying that there's the unproven argument of second hand smoke in your system. But they still conduct random drug screens for it (and all of the other unmentionables) anyway.

I bought a pack of cigarettes on my way home from the interview.

If I had known about the nicotine thing early in the interview then my answers to "how would a co-worker describe you" would have been a lot different: OCD from hell, highly analytical to the point of being Spock, and well, just weird - she's just weird. (After all, the politically correct "normal" person doesn't have any other way of describing me.)

Song of the day: Signs - "Long-haired freaky people need not apply"

Comments

[seci.livejournal.com]

drug (plural drugs)
1. (medicine) Substance used to treat an illness, relieve a symptom or modify a chemical process in the body for a specific purpose.
2. (medicine) A substance, often addictive, which affects the central nervous system.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/drug (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/drug)

Any mind altering substance, to include nicotine and caffeine, could technically be qualified as a drug. There are more legal drugs than illegal. And, like it or not, in this age of "at will" employment, employers really do have the right to make stipulations potential employees (you) may not agree with.

But on the issue of random drug testing for nicotine, perhaps you should think instead of how to avoid failing the test, is this a company you truly would want to become entangled in. It is quite possible that there would be deeper issues (problems?) you would run into working for this company.

[trickykitty.livejournal.com]

At this point I'll take the YMCA over Pavestone just in spite. I can drink AND smoke on my own time if I work for the Y and there are plenty other employees who will join me.

[seci.livejournal.com]

LMAO - exactly! It would be silly for you to knowingly go into such a restrictive environment, much better to hold out for something that meshes well with your current lifestyle.

[fleurrette.livejournal.com]

wtf does Pavestone do that smoking and drinking is bad?

[trickykitty.livejournal.com]

I can guess that it started as a means to keep a nice clean image for their laborers versus the "I just crossed the Rio and habla no Engles" type of crew. Either that or their owner(s) just fit in perfectly with the Bible Belt.

Nothing was mentioned about drinking, but I agree with seci that limiting forbidding smoking is too restrictive and just makes you wonder what else will be restricted.

[fleurrette.livejournal.com]

Jeeeeez
My office job does testing, God Knows what secondary exposures I had from the bar, but I passed.
LOL

[txcowpatties.livejournal.com]

If you come to another game with me, you can ask the owner of pavestone himself. I dont even know if he knows about that. Bob is an easy guy to talk to (at least for me) so it would be interesting to see what he has to say about that.

[trickykitty.livejournal.com]

I think I might have been interviewed in his office. They were mentioning when "he" would get out of his meeting and there was a big framed news article with him in a Tornado's jersey and the rink in the background on the wall. I can't picture another employee having that particular picture up on the wall like that. There were other pictures around, but I never got close enough to tell if they were of him.

There was something specific about the actual job that doesn't sit well with me. I'd be working in a team of 5 administrative assistants at the bottom rung level. I don't think I would work well in that type of job as a team. Clerical stuff I prefer to work on my own.

I'm not completely discounting them, but they just moved a bit further down on my options list.

[txcowpatties.livejournal.com]

Thats cool, I know the guys at the Tornado Office love working for him, they say he a great boss and they have great benefits packages, now of course were talking about the Tornado people, so not sure if he is a different guy with hockey then with his business.

[40hex.livejournal.com]

This sort of thing is on the rise; even the UN is doing it (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10296844/).

[trickykitty.livejournal.com]

Bah Humbug