Termination Not Always Required for Drug Use

James Smith, a truck driver for Eastern Associated Coal Corp., tested positive for cannabinoids following random drug tests in 1996 and again in 1997. Eastern terminated Smith following each of the test results. When Smith filed a grievance challenging the termination under a collective bargaining agreement between Eastern and the United Mine Workers each time, arbitrators ordered him to be reinstated.

Eastern filed suit in federal district court, asking the court to vacate the last arbitrator's award. It argued that U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations represent a well-defined and dominant public policy against the reinstatement of employees in safety-sensitive positions who test positive for drugs. The district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit disagreed and refused to vacate the arbitrator's award.

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed. It found that DOT regulations do not preclude reinstatement of an employee who has tested positive as a result of a drug test. Rather, an employer has a range of options that include permitting the employee's return to work under certain circumstances. Eastern Assoc'd Coal Corp. v. United Mine Workers, US, No. 99-1038 (11/28/00).

Impact: The seemingly obvious--yet erroneous--assumptions the employer made in this case should warn others to review pertinent regulations carefully before making employment decisions.

D. Diane Hatch, Ph.D., is a human resources consultant based in San Francisco. James E. Hall is an attorney with the law firm Barlow, Kobata and Denis, with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago.

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