Dependable Employees - An Update

The Story - The tech failed to show up because his blood pressure went through the roof and, therefore, he called a relative to take him to the hospital. This was backed up with doctor's notes. He showed a blood pressure of 180/130. Everything seemed legit. The employee stated that he had been skimping on his blood pressure medicine because he was not covered under insurance and it was too expensive.

What we did - we informed the employee that he was required to take his blood pressure medicine if needed to keep his blood pressure under control. He was told that we could not incur the liability associated with him driving our vehicles in an unsafe health condition.

What happened - The employee returned to work and worked the entire week with no problems. However, on Friday, again the employee failed to show up after leaving our lab (about 5 minutes from the office). After many unanswered calls, the employee called the supervisor to say that he was in the hospital for blood pressure again. Later info indicated that he had blacked out and ran the company truck into someone's yard before being taken to the hospital. He also informed the supervisor that his son had accidentally taken the wrong card (the company card) from his wallet and used it. The statements show charges similar to previously reported unauthorized charges.

What we did this time - We scheduled an appointment for the employee to see our occupational doctor - something we would have been doing soon anyway. The occupational doctor refused to let the employee return to work until seeing results from a cardiologist. Based on this information, it appears unlikely that the employee will be able to continue working outside in the heat of summer.

After consulting with an employment lawyer, we wrote the employee a letter. The letter stated that we were sorry for his health problems and hope he gets better. It went on to say that he will go on unpaid leave after exhausting his paid leave and until our occupational doctor clears him to work. The letter also referenced the unauthorized credit charges and stated that they would have to be dealt with before he could return to the staff.

In essence, the employee is gone. I can not imagine keeping him on with a complete lack of trust. I will pay for my occupational doctor to reexamine him following the cardiologist exam but I don't think he will be released for work. In that case, he will be let go for medical reasons. Otherwise, he will be let go for repeated personal use of company credit.

In summary, I feel that I am forced to discharge an employee who was doing a good job for the company. He has become a liability due to medical and credit problems and those tend to outweigh the benefit of his good work. C'est la vie.

Potential lessons learned - The thinking now is that we will hire only degreed people for the field position. If they are worthwhile, they will have the opportunity to advance to an office position. I'm not sure this will work but it seems likely that we will at least narrow the field to people who care about their future.