Ky. Company Sues Former Employee Over Failed Drug Test November 10, 2004
News Summary
Kellogg Brown and Root Technical Services (KBR) has filed a civil lawsuit in Hardin Circuit Court in Kentucky against an employee who was fired for failing a drug test, along with the state unemployment office who approved his benefits, the Elizabethtown News-Enterprise reported Nov. 7.Daniel Sayre of Vine Grove was fired from his job as a materials handler for KBR after failing a June 23, 2003 drugtest. Although Sayre was fired, the state unemployment office authorized his benefits after Sayre said he was the victim of a prank in which he was forced to ingest marijuana smoke.
Sayre said a group of people held him down the night of June 22, 2003 and blew marijuana smoke into his face. He said the group thought it was a funny prank since he doesn't take illegal drugs or drink alcohol.
Sayre didn't file a report with the police or inform his superiors at KBR about the incident. However, the drug counselor agreed with Sayre that he had been the victim of a prank.
Although KBR employees who test positive for drugs can remain on the job if they agree to drug counseling, Sayre refused it because he said he had done nothing wrong.
"To knowingly violate a policy a worker must make a voluntary decision to violate the policy," said the unemployment commission report. "The claimant did not voluntarily decide to ingest marijuana; rather, it was forced upon him. Therefore the claimant did not knowingly violate the policy and no misconduct exists."
The lawsuit will be heard sometime next year.
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