A recent decision by a federal court in the state of Washington serves as a reminder that employees who fail drug tests cannot automatically be fired for their drug use.
The employer was ordered to pay a former employee $1.8 million for failing to accommodate her disability.
The plaintiff, Cynthia Stewart (“Stewart”), had worked as a customer service representative for the defendant, Snohomish Public Utilities District No. 1 (“PUD”) for more than 20 years.
Stewart suffers from chronic and debilitating migraines, which are treated with medication prescribed by her doctor, including a narcotic pain reliever administered by injection at her doctor’s office.
As a result of complaints about her absenteeism, Stewart applied for intermittent medical leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) to take off a few hours at a time to go to her doctor for migraine treatment. The PUD approved her intermittent leave.
One day, Stewart took intermittent medical leave for the fifth time in five days. She went to Dr. Smith’s office for a pain-reducing injection to treat a migraine. She returned to work promptly after receiving the injection, as approved by her doctor.
Not long after Stewart’s return to work, her supervisor told her that he believed she was impaired and she would be referred for drug testing. Shortly thereafter, her supervisors drove her to the lab for drug testing and told her that she would be on paid administrative leave while she was investigated.
The drug test showed the presence of hydromorphone in her system, and because of the positive drug test result, Stewart had to sign a Return to Work Agreement as a condition of her continued employment.
The Return to Work Agreement stated that Stewart would be fired if she came to work while impaired or if she ever tested positive for potentially job-impairing medications. The Agreement made no exception for the prescription medications the PUD knew Stewart took to treat her migraines.
Stewart signed the agreement, and PUD recertified her FMLA leave but required her to stay away from work for four hours after receiving her injection.
One morning, Stewart left work to receive treatment for a migraine. She returned to work roughly four hours after receiving treatment and was then driven to the lab for drug testing.
The drug test again showed that Stewart had hydromorphone in her system. No one at PUD contacted the lab to see how the results should be interpreted.
PUD sent Stewart a letter stating that PUD intended to terminate her employment because she came to work while impaired.
Stewart responded with a letter explaining her medical condition, but PUD terminated her employment. Stewart then filed a lawsuit against PUD.
The Court held that Stewart’s migraines, and the symptoms of her prescription drug, constituted a disability under applicable law, and that PUD should have provided reasonable accommodations to Stewart.
The Court awarded Stewart damages in the amount of $1,815,953.78 ($1,034.258.00 in lost earnings; $765,907.00 in lost pension; $3,563.00 in wage loss for unpaid leave; $2,225.78 in early 401K withdrawal penalties; and $10,000 for emotional distress).
Whether you are an employer or an employee, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about discrimination or the duty to reasonably accommodate employees with disabilities.
