• HEALTH & RECOVERY
    Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules Thread Directory 1 Thread Directory 2
    Mindfulness Links Addiction & Mind
    Sober Living Partner Program (SLiPP)
  • H&R Moderators: VerbalTruist

lost job for being on suboxone maintenence

manboychef

manboychef

Bluelighter
Joined
May 15, 2013
Messages
4,050
Location
central florida
I, as my name states, am a chef. I was honest with the owner and with the sous chef during my interview about the fact that I am in recovery. I was told by the kitchen manager, after I had already started work that they do not hire people on maintainence...I offered a urine screen and documentation of my treatment. Wtf? Is that legal,and am I going to have to lie about my life, because I got off the drugs in the hopes I would no longer have to. Any advice would be helpful because that job would advance my career.
 
Do you get a monthly suboxone prescription or do you have to go to a clinic for it? If you are getting the monthly prescription then I wouldn't mention being on the drug to anyone that doesn't need to know. If you have to go to the clinic for it then you might have to tell a few more people about you being on it, but it should still be on a 'need-to-know' basis.

I know that in early recovery you feel the need to be honest and open about everything, and while this is a good thing in most areas of your life it can create barriers in other areas, so you are better off omitting certain details which you will figure out the longer you are in recovery.

Wtf? Is that legal,and am I going to have to lie about my life, because I got off the drugs in the hopes I would no longer have to
Click to expand...

Why did you think/feel that the manager needed to know that you are on suboxone? I can understand telling the hiring manager at a job that you are in recovery if you can use it to your advantage (although I personally wouldn't mention it), but I would never mention being on a maintenance drug unless I had to, which I could only see happening if I had to go to the clinic each day for it.

Homeless --> Sober Living
 
not sure if what happened to you was legal.. check with a lawyer.. they almost all have an initial consultations as free.. not to advise against being honest but if you are clean and sober and living a good life in recovery WHAT IN GODS green earth is it business of thiers.. rehabs push this shit, but i'm not convinced, if you are being honest with yourself, then why should you promote the possible ignorance and astigmatisms of others and risk the real possibility of being discriminated against. If you are doing great then there is no need to disclose this information. discrimination against taking medication for addiction should be illegal.. fortunately the chance that an employer throws the high cost for the specific test needed for subs is almost unheard of:D
 
Last edited:
So true. They just lost a talented chef. Limitless possibilities. And I sure as hell am not going to stop taking my suboxone or pursuing my recovery.
 
Last edited:
Hey dont worry about that, something better is in you future.. dont let this get you down, cause things like this always seem to turn out to be a positive in the end if WE GIVE IT the time needed to realize this..

what a good dish you have been dign lately.. I really liked this pork tendi dish i created a couple of nights ago.. grilled pork t, stuffed with brie and cottage cheese and habanero jello.. with a pok stalk/star fruit reduction.. shhh:sus: it pretty good..
 
neversickanymore said:
Hey dont worry about that, something better is in you future.. dont let this get you down, cause things like this always seem to turn out to be a positive in the end if WE GIVE IT the time needed to realize this..

what a good dish you have been dign lately.. I really liked this pork tendi dish i created a couple of nights ago.. grilled pork t, stuffed with brie and cottage cheese and habanero jello.. with a pok stalk/star fruit reduction.. shhh:sus: it pretty good..
Click to expand...

lol. What the hell is habanero jello? That sounds so funny. I'm not hating on your dish neversickanymore, I'm sure its great! ;)

To OP, I'd say just move on. Being fired from a job sucks, but the best thing to do is just move on and look forward.
 
I've gotten away from fusion to do modern takes on classic comfort food dishes.

Here's hoping something good comes along. Sick of all the heartache.

I'm basically perfecting a version of shepherds pie. Roasted root vegetables...lamb and beef mixture in demiglase with rosemary and a mixture of Yukon gold roasted garlic and borsin as the topping. Garnished with chives and an Asiago crisp.

Habanero jello sounds awesome...is it like aspic?
 
Last edited:
Ozekat said:
lol. What the hell is habanero jello? That sounds so funny. I'm not hating on your dish neversickanymore, I'm sure its great! ;)

To OP, I'd say just move on. Being fired from a job sucks, but the best thing to do is just move on and look forward.
Click to expand...
sorry habanero jelly, similar to jalapeno jelly (jam, preserve) not jello.. chuckles at my typo.. but now im thinking.. habenero and pineapple jello? or here is one, and when i come across it in your future resturant I will definetly stick my head in the kitchen and say high.. habenero and pineapple ice cream.. copy rite NSA:D

edit: that sounds pretty good.. speaking of comfort food.. cooking a simple bacon wrapped oatmeal meatloaf rite now.. just a little garlic, Worcestershire, soy sauce, thyme and rosemary as seasoning..
 
Last edited:
You may very well have a case under "Americans with Disabilities Act" (if your in the US) it is a very well known fact that addiction is listed within the act itself. Any workplace is prohibited by federal law from discriminating against employees, or potential employees. 14 USC 12111. There are however a few exception but chef is not one.
 
Sorry they fired you like that, and in this case being honest worked against you. People in the "straight world" generally don't have an understanding of what it's like to be in recovery. Lots of people make the knee-jerk assumption that a person is bound to relapse. It sucks but I found many people think like this. But it's good you're in a field where jobs are fairly easy to find. Keep your head up, you're meant for something better! <3
 
Jarhead said:
You may very well have a case under "Americans with Disabilities Act" (if your in the US) it is a very well known fact that addiction is listed within the act itself. Any workplace is prohibited by federal law from discriminating against employees, or potential employees. 14 USC 12111. There are however a few exception but chef is not one.
Click to expand...

That's what I was gonna say, but I understand if you don't want to pursue it.

I also wanted to add that my boyfriend runs a restaurant, he's the general manager but he's almost always in the kitchen while checking in on front of house as well. He has someone in his kitchen that is on methadone and he's not had any issues with it and obviously he hired him in the first place. And this is someone that has to drive an hour to the clinic every day.

Some jobs just suck. I got fired from my server job because I got the living shit beat out of me and spent a week in the hospital. And this was a fucking dive bar that was basically just a front for a drug ring.

Anyways I hope you find somewhere more accommodating. But as a lot of other people said it's probably not even necessary to mention you're on suboxone. I don't tell people unless it becomes relevant.
 
I never said anything about working there, sue for non compliance , and punitive damages. You can find free representation. They will most likely settle out of court. IMHO.

Also sounds like a hostile work environment case as well now that I think of it. Although not a USC (united States Code), it is covered in every state (your mileage may very)
 
Last edited:
That is really fucked up, you are on maintenance in order to get back to living a normal life, they could at least have given you a chance! Of course, I am also glad that you got out of a work environment where they are so biased...who knows what would have come up next?

Sorry to hear you've had such a shit time of it, and hope you find a great new job soon!
 
It was a second job. I want to buy a house by thirty five. Yeah, I'm just going to keep it under my hat. I was older, and had more experience than all the cooks there. The kitchen manager couldn't even look me in the eye Ashe was telling me. Kinda funny.
 
manboychef said:
I, as my name states, am a chef. I was honest with the owner and with the sous chef during my interview about the fact that I am in recovery. I was told by the kitchen manager, after I had already started work that they do not hire people on maintainence...I offered a urine screen and documentation of my treatment. Wtf? Is that legal,and am I going to have to lie about my life, because I got off the drugs in the hopes I would no longer have to. Any advice would be helpful because that job would advance my career.
Click to expand...

It's not necessary to give out this information, as it's purely confidential. These people always try to peak into your personal life during interviews and even go to the extent of lying about rules of confidentiality and privacy to get that information. Next time, don't tell them.
 
Definitely not legal.

The only way it is legal is if they can prove that it is affecting your work on a regular basis. Addiction is defined as a disability.

They can't fire you for a disability unless it is heavily affecting your work.

But I agree it's probably not worth it. find a job elsewhere.
 
Jarhead said:
You may very well have a case under "Americans with Disabilities Act" (if your in the US) it is a very well known fact that addiction is listed within the act itself. Any workplace is prohibited by federal law from discriminating against employees, or potential employees. 14 USC 12111. There are however a few exception but chef is not one.
Click to expand...

this.

what they did was illegal. you could get a dr's note from where ever to prove to them you are not impaired on your medicine, you take itbecause it helps you cure you sickness just like anyone else who is sick and needs to be on a drug. You gave them a clean sample and a note from your plpace? I would run it by like an aclu lawyer or something. that seems so wrong.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top