Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Michigan

Re: Drinking off the job at a social function but in the place of employement

You are correct that you have a right to drink if you are an adult...but you don't have the right to drink on company time,--or on company property, if that is a condition of your employment.

It makes sense that they wouldn't want anyone who has authority to represent the company to be drunk while on company property, even if you're not on duty. They can't monitor whether you're working or not. As importantly, they can't monitor whether other people BELIEVE that you're working...so, it's probably a reasonable requirement. If your job were in a strip club, and your JOB required you to get customers to buy you a drink, then drinking on the job (well, probably a grossly watered-down but extremely pricey drink) would be part of your job duties and things would be different. :o)

As you know, bowling alleys have dangerous equipment, and drinking is pretty common: both could lead to serious liabiliity for the company. Imagine if an off-duty employee gets drunk, gets into a fight with a customer and uses his key to get into the back room to get a stick and hit someone. It's the same with drugs: a drunk/high employee is never an asset to a company. Someone gets hurt, and who pays: the company, both in terms of legal liability and reputation in the community (their business depends upon a good reputation).