Example Getting Official Medical Approval

On one particular remote worksite in the Midwest, one new hire showed up for work without obtaining a medical authorization through the company-approved physician. The FLS turned him away, restating that he would have to have medical clearance before being allowed to start to work. As it turned out, the potential new hire had gone for his physical exam, but the company physician wanted to have a variety of other tests successfully completed before the company physician would deem the potential new hire fit for duty. 

The tests that the company physician was requiring were not part of what the company was authorized to perform and pay for during the physical examination therefore, the team member was told to see his personal physician. The potential new hire s physician would perform the tests (keep in mind that the potential new hire was expected to have these tests performed at his own expense, insurance or otherwise) and then have his personal physician call the company physician. The company physician and personal physician would then consult. 

For this particular case, this potential team member had no personal medical insurance and had no personal doctor but had a burning desire to start to work. The potential new hire went to the emergency room of a local hospital, found a doctor, and had some tests performed. The potential new hire then brought a note in from the emergency room doctor clearing this person for work. The potential new hire presented this note to the FLS, who promptly put this newly hired team member to work. 

A situation similar to this example repeats itself many times daily in the normal course of business. We have a worker who wants to work, but who is not deemed fit for duty by a company physician. Further testing may result in the clearance for duty, or it may not. One situation we want to avoid is allowing someone to perform work without proper authorization. In the previous example, the team member was very unhappy about being asked to leave the worksite because of a lack of medical clearance. In this team member s logic, he had already proven that he was fit to perform the job. After all, he had been performing it successfully until his less than acceptable fitness for duty was discovered. He expressed with vehemence that there was absolutely no reason not to allow him to continue. 

This FLS did not have a lot of experience in these types of matters. This FLS rarely had incidents on his projects and had never dealt with a similar situation in his career. Even though the FLS had the best of intentions, this situation could have been grim. The amount of liability that the company could have undertaken would have been more than they were prepared to handle. 

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