Need advice on medical problems and supervisor accusations

[csab123]

NJ

I started working for a new company 2 months ago at a local drug rehabilitation facility. I am a licensed counselor and have never had any complaints in the short time there. The other day I came into work very tired, I told my supervisor that I had been up all night with my 11 year in the hospital, so I was exhausted. I went about my day which included a 3 hour staff meeting. I was not as talkative since I was tired, but I did participate. The next day I came into work and my supervisor called me into her office and asked me if I had been drugged the day before. She stated that everyone (there were 4 other workers in the meeting) thought I looked overly medicated and that I was sitting there nodding my head, with my mouth open and not talking. She then asked if I took any medications. I was floord! I told her that I was insulted by her accusations as I had told her I was at the hospital all night and did not sleep. I had all my work done and she had no reason to assume that I was overly medicated. I then, for some reason, blurted out that I am on medication for anxiety and pancreatitis but have been on those meds for years. She was making me nervous and just grilling and grilling me. I feel she was so intrusive and my medical history did not need to be disclosed just because I was tired one day. Half way through the day I told her I was leaving because I was humiliated that the office is talking about me looking drugged and now she knows I have suffered from anxiety and depression. I am so upset, and am considering quitting as this is a small office and I feel "tainted." My question is does a supervisor have the right to grill you on what medications youa re on if you have had no issues at work but being tired one day. This is a drug treatment facility so keep in mind everyone is always over analyzing everyone, so just staying up all night with a sick child and being tired seemed to not be a reason to look sleepy.
I'm just so angry.

 

[swalsh411]

There are no laws which say a supervisor cannot ask you about medications you are taking and how they may affect your work performance. You are free not to answer them. You can be fired for refusing to answer, or fired even if you fully cooperate, or fired for any other reason not specifically prohibited by law.

 

[ecmst12]

Next time you are up all night with a sick child, just call out sick!

 

[ESteele]

Go back to work, OP. Hopefully, you still have a job. It is not surprising that in a drug treatment facility the staffers may be hyper-sensitive to behavior (e.g., nodding off) suggestive of drug usage. While your supervisor may not have been tactful in approaching you, he or she did not do anything unlawful.

BTW, you have no one to blame for the disclosure of your medications but yourself. You could have answered your supervisor’s question by responding you did not sleep the night before due to your son being at the emergency room. You inexplicably volunteered the information about your medication regimen even though your prescriptions evidently had nothing to do with your being groggy that day.

Of course, you can quit. However, you do not appear to have any possible claim against your employer for your “humiliation.” Again, I would recommend you return to work and forget about this situation.

 

[csi7]

I agree. Go to work. Be glad they noticed something was "off". Instead of taking it personally, be professional, and move on.

 

[commentator]

Quote: "I then, for some reason, blurted out that I am on medication for anxiety and pancreatitis but have been on those meds for years. She was making me nervous and just grilling and grilling me. I feel she was so intrusive and my medical history did not need to be disclosed just because I was tired one day. Half way through the day I told her I was leaving because I was humiliated that the office is talking about me looking drugged and now she knows I have suffered from anxiety and depression. I am so upset, and am considering quitting as this is a small office and I feel "tainted."

Right here is where the situation went downhill. Your supervisor was perhaps being rude, being accusatory, being less than supportive, or intrusive or bullying, but how you responded to her was totally up to you. Like the detectives on the cop shows, she could've lied to you, too, said they KNEW you were on drugs.....there's no labor law that forbids an employer to behave this way, that says they must always treat you respectfully, tell you the truth, be fair or supportive to you.

Then you left, that was another thing you did that probably wasn't a good idea. Leaving because you are humilated can even be interpreted as walking off the job without notice, on other words voluntarily quitting. Now she knows you have suffered from anxiety and depression. So? That should be a plus, really, will make you much better able to empathize with your clients, having gotten your program in order and been able to overcome your problems. If your co-workers thinking you are perfect is necessary to your continuined employment there, you're putting way too much emphasis on what they think.

And honestly, if you are any kind of experienced drug counselor, you know that your behavior, becoming SO defensive and blurting out that you were on medication and then being SO hurt at not being believed and feeling "tainted" by their suspicions is exactly the type of behavior that a drug abuser is going to produce when confronted when he's guilty as sin of what he has been accused of. Your co workers and your supervisor cannot be blamed for being suspicious. The supervisor cannot be blamed for pushing the issue if they were suspicious. And your behavior did nothing but reinforce that they may have something to be suspicious about.

If you quit the job now, you will have reinforced their suspicions. Stay there and show them that you have absolutely no issues of this type. You can't convince anyone verbally. It's silly to demand that they not think something.

If you do walk off the job under these circumstances, you would very probably not be able to get unemployment benefits approved. In order to quit a job and be able to get approved to draw unemployment insurance, you must be able to show that you had a really good job related reason to quit the job. Being questioned and challenged by your supervisor isn't going to rise to the level of a very good reason to quit.

 

[csab123]

In Response...

Thank you for the feedback....

Just to reiterate I did make it clear that I had been up all night, and I was not "nodding off" I was nodding my head in response to what people were saying and she thought I wasn't acting myself as I usually am more vocal in meetings and don't just nod my head at everything. There was no indication that I had being using drugs at all to be accused of it. I would have given a drug test if it had been offered to me. I alerted human resources as I did feel like she was harassing me and would not drop the issue after I told her I had not been "drugged" that I was just tired. She did not believe I was at the hospital and insisted that I was medicated or high.
You're right...I probably should have called out, but in all my years doing this work I would never think being tired would be misconstrued as being high. Yes I did voluntarily offer my medications; I think I was just taken back. I think many people in my shoes would have been a little thrown off. I have only been there a short time so it is very embarrassing to be told that the supervisor was talking about me to all the staff members. In retrospect maybe I should have just finished the day, but I was so upset I just kept crying in my office (I had left another job for this job because of pay, so I was second guessing my decision). Anyway, I wasn't sure what the law dictated as far as a supervisor asking for your medication list or accusing you of something with no evidence, not to mention speaking to other staff members about medical problems. The kind of job I do is very emotional in and of itself, so it's hard to counsel people if you are upset.

 

[csab123]

Thank you

Thank you for the feedback, I was definitely in the moment and got on the defense without thinking of what I was saying, my filter was probably off hindsight is 20/20, I guess this will be a learning experience.

Quote: "I then, for some reason, blurted out that I am on medication for anxiety and pancreatitis but have been on those meds for years. She was making me nervous and just grilling and grilling me. I feel she was so intrusive and my medical history did not need to be disclosed just because I was tired one day. Half way through the day I told her I was leaving because I was humiliated that the office is talking about me looking drugged and now she knows I have suffered from anxiety and depression. I am so upset, and am considering quitting as this is a small office and I feel "tainted."

Right here is where the situation went downhill. Your supervisor was perhaps being rude, being accusatory, being less than supportive, or intrusive or bullying, but how you responded to her was totally up to you. Like the detectives on the cop shows, she could've lied to you, too, said they KNEW you were on drugs.....there's no labor law that forbids an employer to behave this way, that says they must always treat you respectfully, tell you the truth, be fair or supportive to you.

Then you left, that was another thing you did that probably wasn't a good idea. Leaving because you are humilated can even be interpreted as walking off the job without notice, on other words voluntarily quitting. Now she knows you have suffered from anxiety and depression. So? That should be a plus, really, will make you much better able to empathize with your clients, having gotten your program in order and been able to overcome your problems. If your co-workers thinking you are perfect is necessary to your continuined employment there, you're putting way too much emphasis on what they think.

And honestly, if you are any kind of experienced drug counselor, you know that your behavior, becoming SO defensive and blurting out that you were on medication and then being SO hurt at not being believed and feeling "tainted" by their suspicions is exactly the type of behavior that a drug abuser is going to produce when confronted when he's guilty as sin of what he has been accused of. Your co workers and your supervisor cannot be blamed for being suspicious. The supervisor cannot be blamed for pushing the issue if they were suspicious. And your behavior did nothing but reinforce that they may have something to be suspicious about.

If you quit the job now, you will have reinforced their suspicions. Stay there and show them that you have absolutely no issues of this type. You can't convince anyone verbally. It's silly to demand that they not think something.

If you do walk off the job under these circumstances, you would very probably not be able to get unemployment benefits approved. In order to quit a job and be able to get approved to draw unemployment insurance, you must be able to show that you had a really good job related reason to quit the job. Being questioned and challenged by your supervisor isn't going to rise to the level of a very good reason to quit.