Employee’s failure to provide an adequate urine sample attributed to employer’s failure to comply federal procedures rather than employee misconduct
Dept. of Sanitation v Anonymous, OATH Index No. 765/11
OATH Administrative Law Judge Kevin Casey dismissed a charge alleging that a sanitation worker had refused to submit to a random drug test. The worker, who became ill during the testing procedure and was later diagnosed with a medical condition, was unable to provide a sufficient urine sample, despite repeated attempts.
ALJ Casey found the department failed to provide the worker with forty ounces of water to drink over a period of three hours, as required by federal regulation. Hence, the employee's failure to produce sufficient urine for testing was not misconduct.
The decision is posted on the Internet at:
http://archive.citylaw.org/oath/11_Cases/11-765.pdf