Anythng other than 0.00 can get you canned from where I work as well:
“All team members are prohibited from working or reporting to work when impaired by alcohol or drugs.”
It probably doesn’t matter either way, but did they tell you that you had “passed” with that result, or was that just your interpretation of the number?
On the other hand, I’ve worked for plenty of software/technology companies where beer gets served by the company, on the clock. “Hey, we’re having a bug bash! Grab a beer and pull up a chair…”
That’s a good question. If it’s the OP’s interpretation, based on the legal BAC for getting a DUI, the OP wouldn’t be the first person to think that the driving BAC was somehow legally binding in other situations-- I knew someone (well, I heard someone going on loudly at a Denny’s) who thought if you could drive, you could go to a firing range, and got into an argument when they wouldn’t let him shoot because they smelled alcohol on his breath. Apparently they had a sign up that said they had the right to deny access to anyone for any reason; I’m sure that barring a suspicious lack of women, or black people being allowed to use the range, that is true. They have heavy liability, and probably make off-the-cuff decisions to deny people access all the time.
The BAC for driving is for driving, period.
One of my employees was issued a file cabinet, yet his role is not the sort of job that generates anything to file, at least physically. So now that’s our bar and he’s the keeper. The only rule is if you participate in the merriment, you should bring a bottle in now and then to keep balance in the universe.
These are not the same things.
Lemur, I’ll grant you that one. I come strictly from an industrial environment where everyone outside the offices works with machinery that can be incredibly dangerous to you and your fellow employees when you operate it in an impaired state. I’ve worked in the steel, chemical and oilfield businesses. All of which are considered dangerous to some degree.
We could be more lenient with the office staff, but have always contended it isn’t fair to hold the guys on the floor or field to a different standard than the folks in the office. Were I in a non-industrial field, we might be more relaxed. But it’s a far different thing if the company passes around the beer than if you’ve gone out and ingested it on your own.
Story bits snipped for brevity; marked by ellipses. Being in Indiana the OP’s BAC could still have been enough to get him an OWI (Operating While Intoxicated). He would have had to be demonstrating some evidence of impairment along with it. Any alcohol plus sign of visibly impaired driving (and a hangover/lack of sleep can assist with that element) and it could have been cuffs instead of just a pink slip.
BAC of .08 is just the no evidence of impairment needed limit (.04 for CDLs).
Good to know that. Guess I’ll have to cut back a few. Or stay away from Indiana.
I’m not clear on this hospital trip – you said you volunteered, does that mean you said, “I’ll prove I’m not drunk!” and went to the clinic on your own accord? Or they told you that you could prove your soberness by getting tested at a clinic?
I’d recommend firing anyone who came in “hungover”. It’s bad all around and no good can come of it. At the next job, call in sick when you are hungover.
If you still have .019 after several hours sleep, you are an alcoholic and you are going to be a problem down the road for any employer.
Wishing you the best in the future.
I’ll just say that I have worked in an office/lab setting for two US based Fortune 50 companies, and neither prohibited alcohol across the board at lunch, and in fact I attended to various events over lunch at both where alcohol was served. In some cases we were expected to return to the office after the event. I had a boss who had a tradition that whenever someone in his group received a promotion he’d take the whole team to lunch and buy a round.
Both of these companies had impairment but not zero tolerance rules.
It may have been different for manufacturing staff, but the point is that alcohol is not universally disallowed by work, even at large companies.
The urine test was probably for drugs. If, by their position, you’d already failed the alcohol test, there’s no need to wait for those results.
Is it cool to ask what you were celebrating?
Let’s hope it wasn’t a promotion, pay rise or extra holiday leave 
I’mma guess St. Paddy’s Day.
:rolleyes:
This is pretty similar to my experience. I’m a researcher in plant biology and I’ve definitely had a few drinks at work related events (and then gone back to work afterwards). No particular issues about it. (I’ve also worked in early the morning when I was, I would guess, somewhere around 0.05 from the night before, and no issues there either). As other people have noted, it depends quite a bit on the workplace. If you work around machinery it may be an issue.
Your real problem here is that America is mostly a country of ‘at will employment’. They can fire you for any reason they want, including because they don’t like the color of your clothing. This isn’t the case everywhere in the world.
Yep, my team’s area at the home office not only has a beer fridge, but there’s always been at least 3-4 bottles of hard alcohol sitting on the shelf between a couple desks. It’s not at all uncommon for meetings that run past about 4pm in the afternoon to be beer meetings.
I’m pretty sure that would all stop if people actually got drunk in the office, but everyone keeps it within reason and the higher-ups have no issues with it.
Why would anyone come into work “smelling like a brewery”? Is it that hard to take a shower, change your clothes, and swirl some mouthwash around in your mouth?