HR Stories Podcast - A Lesson in Every Story!

Testing the limits: when Honest Belief meets Workplace Reality.

John Thalheimer, MS and Chuck Simikian, SPHR, SHRM-SCP Episode 71

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An employee gets drug tested and the test comes back positive. Seems like an easy call to make... or so you think. This was the predicament that an Airgas employee found himself in after using hemp products during his cancer treatments. After trying to plead his case, that he had not been doing drugs, Airgas terminated him, claiming it was their honest belief that it was the right decision based on their information. 

The story may have ended there if it weren't for a plot twist that drives home the importance of documentation and proper investigation. Stay tuned to the end to hear how a company doing what they think is right can sometimes not be enough and how to avoid putting yourself and your company through the same difficulty. 

In the HR News segment, the team touches on the following topics and more:

  • Non-profit HR Challenges: upcoming webinar
  • Sabbaticals - the new/old perk
  • Technology fail - when computers make empty promises
  • Unionized NCAA teams
  • Resume name discrimination

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The viewpoints expressed by the characters in the stories are not necessarily that of The Team at HR Stories. The stories are shared to present various, real-world scenarios and share how they were handled by policy and, at times, law. Chuck and John are not lawyers and always recommend working with an employment lawyer to address concerns.

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