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01 December 2004: Justifiable Hiring Procedures (1 of 2)
When I was going through the hiring process for my first teaching job, I was both shocked and amused by the health exam the district required. In addition to the regular fingerprint-based background check, this very urban and impoverished school district paid for me to have a full physical, drug test, and breathalyzer test. Okay, the physical and the drug test make sense. I'm going to be getting health benefits, and working with young children, so that seems like a good way to get some relevant background information. But a breathalyzer? At a 10:30 am medical appointment? Not to trivialize their condition, but even the full-blown alcoholics I know can get through the morning without more than a latte. How could the district believe that a breathalyzer test on a Tuesday morning could give them any indication of my drinking habits? Well, a little something showed up in the news recently that I believe served to justify this policy.
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