When companies decide not to do the right thing and pay a fair amount after our initial letters, we proceed to litigation. We then persuade them, through litigation, to reconsider – though the price will be higher since they waited.
We represented John. He worked at a company for 10 years. It randomly drug tested him and he came back positive for marijuana. The company fired him.
In Minnesota, the Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (DATWA) protects employees from being terminated for a first-time positive on a drug test. DATWA says that employers must first offer the opportunity for treatment to an employee who tests positive. Employers can only terminate the employee if he refuses treatment, fails to complete treatment, or pops positive on a second drug test after treatment. DATWA tries to strike a balance. It allows employers to invade employees’ privacy through drug tests at work, but forbids employers from terminating employees without giving them a chance for treatment first.
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We sent a detailed settlement opportunity letter to John’s company. It refused to negotiate. So we proceeded to litigation. The company refused to produce certain key emails about John’s termination. So we got a court order forcing the company to turn them over. The emails showed that John did not have safety-sensitive functions in his job, and therefore was eligible for rehabilitation treatment after his drug test.
The company settled weeks later for $500,000.
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