# forced to use breathalizer at work **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2011, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808 "2011-01-16T08:50:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![todd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/fbc32d/32.png) [@todd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/todd)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/41 "2011-01-17T20:23:03Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:39, topic:567808”] The thought of a legally-drunk “power sysytems high voltage jorneyman” (sic) on the job does not fill me with comfort. And if you were blowing .088 at noon, I can’t imagine what your blood alcohol content was at midnight. I think your best bet is to say nothing to anybody until that meeting on Thursday. And ask for the union to provide a lawyer. [/QUOTE] yes and so is the case - thank you:p ---
**Author:** ![todd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/fbc32d/32.png) [@todd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/todd)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/42 "2011-01-17T20:28:33Z")
> [@todd](#): > > The union is looking at it and now I have a meeting with HR and the union on thursday this week to hear verdict - maybe a last chance agreement..i hope > and Im a power sysytems high voltage jorneyman u are the only one in this forum with any real advice - thank u - as i mentioned the company manager is aware of the 2007 ruling that was blasted all over alberta about the privacy breach when they let go senior HR people and Managers because of a previous altercation IWON with these people so this is a continual case of on going harassmsnt as well - documented by the union and self going to the human rights commission for action - and the union may assist me and the union may not - I can only remain hopefull that the company manger - who dislikes me - thats going to be at the union hall meeting on thursday does not make me file a grievance of harrasment based on past case government inforced history - where they wre forced to fire staff that breached the privacy act - ( who were his friends ) FYI ---
**Author:** ![todd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/fbc32d/32.png) [@todd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/todd)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/43 "2011-01-17T20:30:41Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Is 0.088 a lot? I don’t know the scale for this. but the 0.02 and 0.04 readings were “lost” in the mayhem of trying to get this machine to work - why would it take a technican or nurse 2.5 hours to take a breath sample…? you tell me:) ---
**Author:** ![todd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/fbc32d/32.png) [@todd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/todd)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/44 "2011-01-17T20:33:43Z")
what am i to say - where are the 0.02 and 0.04 and 0.062 readings then - smartass ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/45 "2011-01-17T20:35:44Z")
> [@todd](#): > > > [@todd](#): > > > > The union is looking at it and now I have a meeting with HR and the union on thursday this week to hear verdict - maybe a last chance agreement..i hope > > and Im a power sysytems high voltage jorneyman > > u are the only one in this forum with any real advice - thank u Er… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![todd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/fbc32d/32.png) [@todd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/todd)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/46 "2011-01-17T20:37:27Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Now _breathalyzer_ is one of those words that always reminds me of a joke. yeah thats the truth - they admit they did not have adequate training on it and they "lost " my low readings by not knowing how to save them…!!☹ ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/47 "2011-01-17T20:44:47Z")
So…how much have you had to drink today? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/48 "2011-01-17T21:08:34Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > It was a joke. Chances are if you are “drinking all night” you are coming into work the next morning drunk or at least with a bad hangover. I’ll drink to that! ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/49 "2011-01-17T21:19:28Z")
> [@todd](#): > > The union is looking at it and now I have a meeting with HR and the union on thursday this week to hear verdict - maybe a last chance agreement..i hope > and Im a power sysytems high voltage jorneyman Can you answer my question about whether you were actually denied your right to representation? I’m curious about the application of Weingarten rights in non-US work environments. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/50 "2011-01-17T22:03:32Z")
Seriously, you’re whining about them losing your low readings - which were still NOT ZERO. I think you should be fired for NOT BLOWING A ZERO AT ALL. Perhaps the “bad blood” has something to do with people knowing you’ve been drunk on the job for a long time, while unable to prove it until now. I’d have it out for you, too. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/51 "2011-01-17T22:19:20Z")
I’ve worked in H/R and I’ve worked with breathalyzers and they’re not exactly rocket science to use or administer. Perhaps there are different kinds. They have to be calibrated and recalibrated after awhile, so the results could be screwed up. At least our kind did. I’ve worked with union and non-union shops and there are generally accepted rules for administering them. Rules must be followed if they aren’t results can be thrown out. suspicion will follow you for the rest of your career. Look what happened has happend. Now the best advice is SAY NOTHING. Don’t even post on boards, as someone from your company can Google this and it’ll come up in a search. If a company has it in for you, and some do, it’s not terribly difficult for them to make your life miserable enough to quit or to find a way to fire you. On the flip side, a company has a responsibility to it’s workers and so do you, safety is the most important thing here. Canadian laws are different from those in the 50 states. So now the best recourse is to just stop posting here. Stop talking about this with anyone but a union rep or a lawyer. You can’t go back in time and fix this. And evidence can be thrown out or at least be shown to give you reasonable doubt, then all you can do is hope. If you believe you are being targeted then stop posting here and start using the time to look for a lawyer who can take up a wrongful dismissal case. As a former H/R worker the more an employee talks the worse it always becomes for him Good luck ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/52 "2011-01-17T22:34:14Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Seriously, you’re whining about them losing your low readings - which were still NOT ZERO. > > I think you should be fired for NOT BLOWING A ZERO AT ALL. > > Perhaps the “bad blood” has something to do with people knowing you’ve been drunk on the job for a long time, while unable to prove it until now. I’d have it out for you, too. u r not helpful plus evvrybody in Alberta knows u lied I’m not drunk I’m enchanted. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/53 "2011-01-17T22:54:51Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Legal limit for driving, or a DUI, is generally 0.08. So in otherwords, by almost NOON, he was still legally drunk on the job. Does not compute. If I’d drunk that much beer, stopping at midnight, I’m pretty sure I’d still feel a little drunk the next morning. Of course, I’m a lightweight in literal terms, only weighing about 140 at 5’9". The lighter you are, of course, the longer it takes to metabolize alcohol, more or less. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/54 "2011-01-17T23:12:47Z")
> [@todd](#): > > what am i to say - where are the 0.02 and 0.04 and 0.062 readings then - smartass **Moderator note** : **todd** , welcome to the Straight Dope. Since you are obviously new here you may have missed the rule, in the Registration Agreement, which prohibits insults–except in the [BBQ Pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?f=5). We want to keep the level of discourse civil here, so the bar of what constitutes an insult is quite low. [Moderator hat off] Have you looked at the website of your provincial or national labor ministry/department? I would think one or both should lay out the standards letting everyone know what the reported BAC levels really mean. In California the BAC level establishing probable DUI is .08 = 0.08 of 1% content in the blood; I don’t know what the figures mean that you cited. To repeat what everyone else is saying, talk to your shop steward or whoever it is, and do a little research on your own. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/55 "2011-01-18T23:29:13Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > If I’d drunk that much beer, stopping at midnight, I’m pretty sure I’d still feel a little drunk the next morning. Of course, I’m a lightweight in literal terms, only weighing about 140 at 5’9". The lighter you are, of course, the longer it takes to metabolize alcohol, more or less. I do wonder how big a person the OP is. The OP said they were drinking 4% beers “until midnight” and I decided to assume he started drinking around 10pm. According to [this caculator](http://celtickane.com/projects/blood-alcohol-content-bac-calculator/), I’d still be legally drunk for almost 14 hours if I matched him drink for drink (since my bac would be around .022 if I drank 9 beers in 2 hours). Males are supposed to metabolize alcohol quicker, but if he’s little too… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/56 "2011-01-18T23:48:07Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Seriously, you’re whining about them losing your low readings - which were still NOT ZERO. > > I think you should be fired for NOT BLOWING A ZERO AT ALL. > > Perhaps the “bad blood” has something to do with people knowing you’ve been drunk on the job for a long time, while unable to prove it until now. I’d have it out for you, too. I’m finding it hard to believe that a company in the oil patch has anything but a zero tolerance for drinking and drugging on the job, with all the problems that area of Alberta is having with alcohol and drug abuse. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/57 "2011-01-19T01:47:28Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I’ve worked with union and non-union shops and there are generally accepted rules for administering them. Rules must be followed if they aren’t results can be thrown out. suspicion will follow you for the rest of your career. Which is why I asked my (still unanswered) question about being denied union representation vs. not asking for union representation. ---
**Author:** ![Incref](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@Incref](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incref)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/58 "2011-01-19T04:09:13Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I do wonder how big a person the OP is. The OP said they were drinking 4% beers “until midnight” and I decided to assume he started drinking around 10pm. According to [this caculator](http://celtickane.com/projects/blood-alcohol-content-bac-calculator/), I’d still be legally drunk for almost 14 hours if I matched him drink for drink (since my bac would be around .022 if I drank 9 beers in 2 hours). Males are supposed to metabolize alcohol quicker, but if he’s little too… Yeah I tried [this one](http://www.rupissed.com/) with male aged 35, 175cm tall and 75kg ,drinking 4% 375ml cans, starting drinking at 8pm and got 0.088. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/59 "2011-01-19T12:15:45Z")
> [@todd](#): > > u are the only one in this forum with any real advice Actually, post #9 had very good advice: > [@](#): > > you have a drinking problem and should seek help. . But I don’t expect you will heed that advice. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808/60 "2011-01-19T14:54:43Z")
I would also acquaint myself with breathalyzers and the common ways they can give incorrect readings. They’re far from infallible. For instance, typically they use a 2100 to 1 ration to determine BAC from the amount of alcohol in your breath. The problem with that is not only does the ration vary widely in between people (between 1300 and 3100) but it can also vary constantly for a single person. This alone can greatly affect it’s accuracy. Things like burping before blowing into the tube can also do major damage to your score. A piece of advice for everyone, if you ever happen to be stopped by the police and blow a bad reading, immediately ask to have a urine test taken. Police aren’t required to save the actual air taken in a breathalyzer, so there is no defense against their test unless you take appropriate measures immediately. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forced-to-use-breathalizer-at-work/567808.md?page=4)