Hoffman Construction Co. v. Employment Department
Hoffman Construction Co. v. Employment Department
Opinion of the Court
Employer petitions for judicial review of a decision of the Employment Appeals Board (EAB) that claimant was entitled to receive unemployment benefits. Employer asserts that EAB erred in several respects by concluding that employer did not test claimant pursuant to a reasonable pre-employment drug testing policy and that claimant’s act of adulterating his urine sample therefore did not constitute misconduct connected with work. We review EAB’s legal conclusions for errors of law and its factual findings for substantial evidence. ORS 183.482(8). For the reasons discussed below, we affirm.
We state the facts as found by EAB. Claimant went to work as a general laborer for employer on Friday, March 26,1999. At the time of his hire, claimant was given a copy of employer’s drug policy, which is described below. Claimant started work at 7:00 a.m. on March 26 and was sent to a designated testing facility to submit a urine sample for drug testing. Claimant provided a urine sample, then reported to the job site and worked through that day. On Monday, March 29, claimant again reported to work. On the same day, the drug testing facility notified employer that the mine sample had been adulterated with nitrites, which can mask the presence of marijuana metabolites. The testing facility was unable to conduct a verification test because of the nitrites.
When employer found out that the March 26 urine sample was adulterated, it gave claimant a second opportunity to take the test. Claimant provided a second urine sample on March 29. The testing facility discovered that that sample was also contaminated with nitrites. Because of the nitrites, the testing facility again was not able to provide employer with an accurate report. Employer received those results from the testing facility on March 31 and then discharged claimant for violating employer’s drug and alcohol policy by providing an adulterated urine sample for the second test.
Claimant sought unemployment benefits, which were allowed by Employment Department. Employer sought a hearing, arguing that claimant was disqualified from
Employer appeals, asserting that EAB erred in concluding that the March 29 test was not a pre-employment test conducted pursuant to a reasonable employer drug policy, that it erred in concluding that the policy did not prohibit adulteration of mine samples or that adulteration of urine samples was not “misconduct connected with work” under ORS 657.176(2), and that it erred in upholding the hearings officer’s decision to exclude certain documents from evidence on the ground that claimant did not receive them before the hearing.
We begin with employer’s evidentiary argument. At the hearing, which was conducted by telephone, employer sought to introduce certain exhibits into evidence, including drug testing consent forms that claimant signed. The hearings officer rejected the exhibits on the ground that claimant had not received them. Employer ascertained that Federal Express had attempted to deliver them the day before the hearing but was unable to do so. Employer argues that, because employer had attempted to have the documents
We turn to the merits of employer’s argument. OES 657.176(9) provides:
“(a) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section,[1 ] an individual is considered to have committed a disqualifying act when the individual fails to comply with the terms and conditions of a reasonable policy established by the employer, which may include blanket, random, periodic and probable cause testing, that governs the use, sale, possession or effects of controlled substances or alcohol in the workplace.
“(b) The department shall adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this subsection.”
OAR 471-030-0130(5)(c) provides, in part:
“An employer has reasonable grounds for drug testing, including random, periodic or blanket testing, when the employer has a written policy on drug testing and has published or provided the policy to its employees at the time of hire or at least 30 days prior to testing, and:
“(A) The employee, if affected or impaired at work by the illegal use of drugs, could or would pose a significant danger to himself or herself or others[.]”
OAR 471-030-0130(6)(d) provides that “[n]o test administered after the worker actually begins work (the performance of services) shall be considered a pre-employment test.” OAR 471-030-0145(1) provides, in part:
*425 “For purposes of ORS 657.176(9), when an individual is discharged or suspended as a result of failing to comply with a reasonable employer policy related to the use, sale, possession or effects of controlled substances or alcohol in the workplace, the individual has committed a disqualifying act and is not qualified to receive unemployment insurance benefits.”2
In the present case, EAB noted that employer has an established drug and alcohol policy and that it discharged claimant for violating that policy. It therefore reasoned that the legal issue was whether employer’s drug and alcohol policy was reasonable under OAR 471-030-0130. EAB held:
“The employer’s drug policy allows the employer to test an employee for drugs pre-employment, following an incident involving an injury or property damage, and post-employment when the employer has reasonable cause to believe that an employee is or may be under the influence of drugs. The employer did not show that claimant was tested for drugs because he was involved in an incident that resulted in injury or property damage or because reasonable cause existed to believe that he was, or might be, under the influence of drugs. The employer also failed to provide persuasive evidence that the drug test claimant took on March 29, 1999, was a pre-employment drug test.
“The employer’s drug and alcohol policy specifies that pre-employment screening tests will be given prior to the employee reporting for work. The policy defines ‘employee’ to mean any individual who actually performs job site work on a project for the employer. The employer did not test claimant for drugs prior to claimant reporting for work. The employer considered claimant to be an employee as of the time he reported to the work site at 7:00 a.m. on March 26, 1999. Claimant performed job site work for the employer*426 prior to the March 29 drug test. Further, the consent form that claimant signed before taking the test specified that claimant was agreeing to provide urine specimens in compliance with the post-employment provisions of the employer’s drug policy. Accordingly, the drug test that the employer required claimant to take on March 29 was not a pre-employment test for purposes of the employer’s own drug and alcohol policy.
“Because the drug test that the employer required claimant to take on March 29, 1999, was not a pre-employment test or a post-incident test, and did not fit the provisions of the employer’s policy on post-employment testing, the employer did not have reasonable grounds to test claimant pursuant to the terms of its own policy.”
EAB concluded that, because an employer must follow the terms of its own drug policy before the policy can serve as a ground for disqualification for benefits, claimant was entitled to benefits. Alternatively, EAB reasoned that “employer did not establish that claimant’s failure to provide a non-adulterated urine sample for testing violated any provision of the company drug and alcohol policy.”
It is not disputed on appeal that employer’s written drug policy satisfies the express conditions of OAR 471-030-0130(5)(c)(A). Employer asserts that EAB erred in concluding that employer failed to follow its policy when it tested claimant on March 29. Employer’s policy provides, in part:
“4. PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG SCREENS - All prospective employees prior to being acceptable for employment on any project * * * shall be given tests for the presence of alcohol, marijuana, etc. and (prescription/non-prescription[ ]) drugs. * * * Pre-employment screening tests shall be taken prior to the employee reporting for work. In the event that the independent medical facility cannot provide results of such tests to the employer prior to the scheduled reporting time of the employee, it is understood that the employee shall be considered a probationary employee until such time as the results from the tests are known to the employer. Further, the presence of one or more of those drugs, alcohol or marijuana will be cause for rejection for employment. Refusal to submit to the screening tests will constitute voluntary withdrawal of application for employment. Positive and invalid tests results will be reported*427 immediately to a designated Hoffman employee on the applicable project. * * *.
“5. POST INCIDENT TESTING - Under the following circumstances any individual either directly or indirectly involved in an incident will be tested for the presence of alcohol and drugs. 1) Incident results in an injury requiring off-site medical treatment; 2) Involvement as a participant crew member in the circumstances surrounding an incident; 3) Incident results in damage to equipment and/or property.
“6. POST EMPLOYMENT TESTING - Testing may be conducted on an individual basis whenever Employer has reasonable cause to believe that an employee or a group of employees is, or may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Employer may conduct post employment testing project wide, up to three times in any twelve month period, without "notice. ”
Employer’s policy also defines “employee” to mean an “individual who actually performs jobsite work[.]”
We agree with employer that, under this policy, the March 26 test was an authorized pre-employment test. Although the policy contemplates the test being administered before an employee reports to work, the policy defines employee as a person who actually performs “jobsite work,” and it is undisputed that claimant, although on the payroll before the test was administered, did not perform work at the job site until after he had taken the test. Similarly, that test was administered before claimant began “the performance of services” at the job site for employer. OAR 471-030-0130(6)(d). Employer suggests in its reply brief that claimant’s adulteration of the March 26 sample disqualified him from benefits. However, claimant was not “discharged or suspended” as a result of the March 26 test; claimant’s actions regarding the March 26 test therefore could not be a “disqualifying act” for purposes of OAR 471-030-0145(1).
Employer next contends that the March 29 test was a pre-employment test authorized by its policy, that claimant should be disqualified from benefits for misconduct connected with work regardless of whether employer had reasonable grounds for the March 29 test, and that, if the
We turn to employer’s argument that the March 29 test was, in fact, a “pre-employment” test under its policy. Even if employer’s written policy was susceptible to that interpretation, such a policy could not be deemed a “reasonable employer policy” under OAR 471-030-0145 because it would conflict with the provision found in OAR 471-030-0130(6)(d) that “[n]o test administered after the worker actually begins work (the performance of services) shall be considered a pre-employment test.” The second test was conducted after claimant had performed at least a day’s work at employer’s job site. EAB correctly concluded that the second test was not a pre-employment test.
As to employer’s suggestion that testing that is not authorized by its policy nonetheless may provide the basis for disqualification from benefits, such a conclusion would conflict with the explicit terms of ORS 657.176(9)(a) (“an individual is considered to have committed a disqualifying act when the individual fails to comply with the terms and conditions of a reasonable policy established by the employer”); see also Andrews v. Employment Dept., 166 Or App 401, 408-10, 998 P2d 769 (2000) (testing was not pursuant to “reasonable policy” where it did not meet “reasonable grounds” standard, and was not authorized by other provisions in policy). Similarly, OAR 471-030-0130(8)(a) provides that “[i]f reasonable grounds for testing exist and an employee is discharged or suspended for refusing to take a drug test, then the employee is discharged or suspended for misconduct connected with work.” It follows from that rule that, if reasonable grounds for testing do not exist and an employee is discharged for refusing to take a drug test, then the discharge is not for misconduct connected with work. OAR 471-030-0130(8)(c) is even more explicit and provides that “[w]hen an employer has no reasonable grounds for drug testing, any discharge or suspension which is caused by the employer’s requirement that an employee submit to a drug test is not for misconduct connected with work.” (Emphasis added.) In sum, an employee who refuses to take a drug test for which the
Employer argues that the result reached by EAB in this case conflicts with the policies underlying the unemployment compensation statutes and related administrative rules. Employer notes that OAR 471-030-0130(2) provides that “[w]orkers who use drugs off the job are less productive, miss work more often, and have more on the job injuries than their co-workers who do not use drugs.” Employer argues that, because the work involved was dangerous, it would have been able to institute “random, periodic or blanket” drug testing under OAR 471-030-0130(5)(c). Employer suggests that testing under the present circumstances, or dismissing an individual for adulterating a urine sample under these circumstances, is a reasonable thing to do, given the public policies involved and the dangerous nature of the
Contrary to employer’s suggestions, neither EAB’s conclusion nor ours compromises the public policies expressed by the above-quoted statutes and rules. Our decision does not dictate that an unemployment benefits claimant who is discharged for failing a drug test by adulterating a urine sample necessarily will be entitled to benefits. For example, an employer with a policy similar to employer’s policy in the present case might well argue that the adulteration of a pre-employment urine sample with a commercial product designed to mask the presence of marijuana metabolites constituted reasonable cause to believe that the employee was drug-affected and thus that aposi-employment drug test was authorized under the policy. Here, EAB found that the “employer did not show that claimant was tested for drugs because * * * reasonable cause existed to believe that he was, or might be, under the influence of drugs.” Employer does not challenge that finding on review and, in fact, has advanced no argument at all that it had reasonable grounds for testing claimant pursuant to its post-employment testing policy. In short, it is not the facts of the case that compel the legal conclusion that we reach. Instead, because we confine our review to the arguments that employer actually has made, the failure of those arguments compels our conclusion.
EAB correctly rejected employer’s argument that claimant was discharged because of the results of a pre-employment drug test. The test at issue was not a pre-employment drug test, and employer has made no argument
Affirmed.
ORS 657.176(2) provides the grounds for which an individual may be disqualified from receipt of benefits.
OAR 47 l-030-0145(l)(d) further provides:
“If the employer’s policy is not specifically addressed in this rule, or in the provisions of OAR 471-030-0130 [concerning drug testing] or OAR 471-030-0140 [concerning alcohol testing], the employer’s policy related to the use, sale, possession or effects of controlled substances or alcohol is reasonable if failure to comply with the employer’s policy would result in a disqualification from unemployment insurance benefits based upon application of OAR 471-030-0038.”
OAR 471-030-0038, cross-referenced in OAR 471-030-0145(l)(d), is the general misconduct rule and implements ORS 657.176(2).
Because we affirm EAB’s decision on the stated grounds, we need not reach EAB’s alternative reasoning that failure to provide an unadulterated urine sample was not a violation of employer’s drug policy.
Concurring Opinion
concurring.
The result in this case is difficult if not impossible to reconcile with the general policies embodied in Oregon’s unemployment compensation statutes. But I agree that our conclusion is compelled by the gaps in the employer’s own drug-testing policy in combination with the particular statutes and rules that apply in this circumstance. I write separately to point out that, but for the terms of OAR 471-030-0130(8)(c), which the majority discusses at 173 Or App at 428-29, I would not hesitate to conclude that a claimant’s adulteration of the urine sample constitutes independently disqualifying misconduct under ORS 165.176(2)(a). The rule, however, forecloses that conclusion, perhaps inadvertently. If no greater good comes from this case, it may at least prompt the Employment Department to consider the consequences of that rule in the possibly unforeseen circumstances of this case, and to refine the rule accordingly.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- HOFFMAN CONSTRUCTION CO., Petitioner, v. EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT and Norman W. Anderson, Respondents
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published