6 minute read
by Jessica Ennis | June 9, 2025
When an employee at Absolute Caulking & Waterproofing failed an on-site impairment test, many employers would have seen it as grounds for immediate termination. But instead of termination, Absolute offered something unexpected: compassion and resources.
The employee was offered paid leave and outpatient therapy. But after a follow-up test showed continued substance use and they missed a crucial meeting, their future at the company seemed uncertain. That’s when Sarah Deering, Absolute’s vice president, went to pick them up herself.
“During our drive, they asked, ‘Why are you doing all this for me?’” Sarah said. “I told them, ‘Because you’re worth it.’”
Those moments of personal connection made a lasting impression. The employee recommitted to treatment and opened up to their family about their struggles. Today, with continued support that includes scheduled breaks, management check-ins, and substance use monitoring, the employee is thriving.
“Our story didn’t start with this mission, but now it’s who we are,” Sarah said.
Based in Wheat Ridge, Absolute was founded in 1996 by Scott Deering as a means to an end. A serious car accident left his wife injured and their family of five in financial need. Scott launched the business out of his basement, and over nearly three decades, he’s grown it to a team of 40 employees that serve customers across two states.
Behind Scott’s successful business venture lies a deeply personal story of addiction. Sarah and her siblings grew up witnessing their father’s alcohol use disorder. She remembers clearly when he began to turn things around for good.
“His most final and lasting journey to sobriety began in 2002,” she said.
Scott credits support programs and belief in a greater purpose for helping him sustain his sobriety over the years and has been open about his ongoing recovery.
“I don’t regret my past,” he said. “It brought me here. I tell people: the more help you give, the more help you get.”
Driven by a desire to serve others, Scott began informally weaving recovery-friendly values into Absolute’s company culture long before such programs had a name or outside support.
“One doesn’t work here long without the knowledge that the person who signs their paycheck is a drunk who’s chosen not to drink for 23 years,” he said with characteristic candor. “It gives me a perspective few can have.”
When Scott’s son, Nick Williams, joined Absolute in 2009, he believed he had found his future successor. After three years spent learning the trade, Nick shifted focus.
“I found my people working in the field,” Nick said. “But we went through some very scary near misses and accidents. I started to think a lot more could be done for the health and safety of our employees.”
Responding to a Crisis in Construction
In 2021, alarming statistics came out highlighting that Colorado’s construction industry had significantly higher rates of suicide and overdose than any other industry in the state. National data told a similar story: construction workers misuse alcohol and drugs at nearly twice the national average and face the highest rate of fatal overdoses.
This spurred Nick to begin formalizing Absolute’s commitment to employee health and safety, supported by the Colorado School of Public Health’s Colorado Recovery Friendly Workplace Initiative and other local and state partners. He also expanded his advocacy beyond the company on well-being initiatives and public policies, including chairing the Mental Health Working Group for the state’s general contractors association.
Recognizing that work-related injuries often introduced opioid prescriptions, Absolute began exploring alternatives like physical therapy, massage, dry needling, and non-opioid pain management. The company has earned multiple awards for these efforts, including the Certified Healthy Workplace designation from Health Links.
Initially, Sarah did not plan on joining her father and brother at Absolute. After earning degrees in sociology and clinical psychology, she spent a decade helping people recover from trauma through her mental health practice, work often tied to substance misuse and addiction. But when a construction worker connected to her practice died by suicide in 2020, Sarah felt a calling to take her career in a new direction.
“It shook a bunch of stuff loose in my brain,” she said, realizing she could use her expertise in a different way to help an industry in crisis.
She joined Absolute in 2022, bringing a clinical lens to the company’s burgeoning recovery-friendly workplace culture.
“I love this work so much,” Sarah said. “We get to do something so unique — supporting someone through recovery. It feels so different to sit next to someone as their boss and say, ‘I want this for you. You can do this. How can I help?’ Not as a court-appointed therapist, but as someone who sees their dignity.”
A Purpose That Pays Off
When employees violate Absolute’s drug-free workplace policy, they’re offered a choice: termination or a structured treatment pathway. Absolute also leverages Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program to provide paid, protected leave. Since recovery looks different for everyone, Sarah and Nick emphasize the need for structure, including celebrations, check-ins, and treatment updates.
Workplace-supported recovery isn’t just a moral decision — it’s a strategic one. Sarah and Nick say they’ve seen the results firsthand. The ability to retain skilled workers, especially those who might otherwise have been lost to addiction, has driven growth and built a culture of trust.
“There’s a growing body of research supporting the decision to embrace recovery-friendly workplace practices. Even if you’re company is purely bottom-line focused, it still makes sense,” Nick said. “I think our dad came from a much more heart-centered place than most for-profit business leaders, but we’ve been able to prove it can work.”
In 2024, Nick left the company to broaden his impact, but remains involved with Absolute, often as a sounding board for Sarah. He founded R.I.S.E. LLC, a consulting firm focused on Total Worker Health and overdose prevention and is CEO of the American Subcontractors Association of Colorado.
Today, leaders at Absolute share their journey with other Colorado employers encouraging them to consider a recovery-friendly business model, boosted by support from the Centers for Health, Work and Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health.
“The Colorado Recovery Friendly Workplace Initiative helps by giving you tools to get past the scary stuff — the legalities and logistics,” Sarah said. “It’s important to identify and utilize scientific partners that are already doing the work.”
Other local companies, like Encore Electric, are following suit — helping expand recovery-friendly workplace practices across Colorado’s construction industry.
“We know the value is there,” Sarah said. “The return is there, but we understand it’s a hard position to be in as a business. Having a trail of success stories makes it easier to jump into the next situation.”
Scott agreed. “I believe our purpose is to help society – and what a grand way to do it.”
