Teacher Is Someone Else’s Mistake
Your Best P
Five Recent Drug Testing Cases That Didn’t Need to Happen (That Cost Employers Money)
BY WILLIAM J. JUDGE, JD, LL.M., DRUG SCREENING COMPLIANCE INSTITUTE
erhaps to call the people in the following cases “stupid” or “ignorant” is a bit harsh, but to
avoid costly mistakes, employers must become aware of the rules that apply to their testing programs. After more than 30 years of trying to convince people that they can avoid financial liability by simply following the rules, it can be frustrating to see the same costly mistakes made over and over. At events like the recent Drug & Alcohol
Testing Industry Association (DATIA) conference in New Orleans, there are oſten discussions about this issue. Some say it’s just employers & decision makers “burying their heads in the sand” or those with the atitude of, “it won’t happen to me.” And of course, there’s always the emphatic, “I don’t intend to spend one minute nor one dime until DOT walks through that door.”1 Understood. I suppose as a lawyer I should be grateful people keep making mistakes. But I consider myself more of an educator than a lawyer. (My wife, a trial lawyer of 30 years, would agree with that). I continue to believe that we can learn from others’ mistakes. So, here are five recent cases where silly mistakes were made that, if known and corrected beforehand, could have saved a lot of time and money. Second guessing someone else’s actions is always easy. Tese cases are always
8 datia focus debatable.2 But, as you read these brief case
descriptions, think about what you would have done differently.
Case #1. Lingo v. Early County Gin, Inc.3 (Est. six figures)4 Te Employer lost the opportunity to raise the rebutable presumption of intoxication defense to a workers’ compensation claim because the statutory rules were not strictly followed. Earnest Lingo worked at the Early
County Gin Company (Employer) as a “module feeder.” Part of his job included directing drivers as they backed large module trucks into a loading-dock area. On the day of the accident, Lingo was sweeping coton from the module area. A truck began backing toward the loading dock. Te truck struck Lingo from behind, pinning him against the dock. Lingo was
summer 2018
When Life Hands You Lemons...
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