Wrongful..i dont think so!

[gysenj]

What is the name of your state (only My husband was recently fired from his job because they stated that he failed to complete a drug test. Let me tell you what happened and what kind of a fight we’ve been through since his termination from his job of three years.
On July 22, 2009 at 2:00pm human resources approached my husband with paper work to complete a random drug test. On that paper work it stated he had 24 hours to complete his drug testing, it also stated that the testing at the lab was only done between the hours of 1 and 3pm. So the next day my husband woke up got ready for work and was stopping by the lab to complete his drug test, his supervisor had called three times that morning stating that he needed to return to work even without completing the test, my husband thought something was suspicious so he told his supervisor that he would be in after completing his test. My husband went to the lab and gave a urine sample but the tech said that he didn’t have enough specimen to test and that he could return the next day and to bring another order for the lab. My husband went back to work and immediately went to human resource and told the two ladies in charge, Dominic and Ingrid, that he would have to return tomorrow to complete the test and he would need another order form to complete it. He was told by the both of them that he did not need to go back that he just needed to return to work and that he would be ok with the first drug test. On July 28, 2009 again he was approached by human resources stating that they never received the paper work from the lab stating if he had completed the test and told him he needed to leave work and pick up the paperwork . He left and brought back the chain of custody forms for them and human resource, she looked at the paperwork and advised him that he failed to complete the drug test. He told them that when he came back on the 22nd he asked for another chain of custody paperwork from them and they denied him. They then sent him home and told them they needed to talk to his boss. He went home and they called him and told him that they were going to go ahead and terminate his employment due to failure to pass a drug test. Since then they have denied his unemployment and has hindered him getting hired at respectable employers due to a non-reliable status that they give when they call to check references. We have a family of three small children and I am on maternity leave returning to work with only 15 hours a week. Since they have denied his unemployment we are two months behind on our rent and all of our utility bills are at disconnect status. We can not afford an attorney and have an appeal date of Friday Sept 25, 2009 for his unemployment. We wondered on to this web site and was wondering if you had any helpful tips on what we can do to try to win our case against the company. Thank You for your time.
U.S. law)? az

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state (only My husband was recently fired from his job because they stated that he failed to complete a drug test. Let me tell you what happened and what kind of a fight we’ve been through since his termination from his job of three years.
On July 22, 2009 at 2:00pm human resources approached my husband with paper work to complete a random drug test. On that paper work it stated he had 24 hours to complete his drug testing, it also stated that the testing at the lab was only done between the hours of 1 and 3pm. So the next day my husband woke up got ready for work and was stopping by the lab to complete his drug test, his supervisor had called three times that morning stating that he needed to return to work even without completing the test, my husband thought something was suspicious so he told his supervisor that he would be in after completing his test. My husband went to the lab and gave a urine sample but the tech said that he didn’t have enough specimen to test and that he could return the next day and to bring another order for the lab. My husband went back to work and immediately went to human resource and told the two ladies in charge, Dominic and Ingrid, that he would have to return tomorrow to complete the test and he would need another order form to complete it. He was told by the both of them that he did not need to go back that he just needed to return to work and that he would be ok with the first drug test. On July 28, 2009 again he was approached by human resources stating that they never received the paper work from the lab stating if he had completed the test and told him he needed to leave work and pick up the paperwork . He left and brought back the chain of custody forms for them and human resource, she looked at the paperwork and advised him that he failed to complete the drug test. He told them that when he came back on the 22nd he asked for another chain of custody paperwork from them and they denied him. They then sent him home and told them they needed to talk to his boss. He went home and they called him and told him that they were going to go ahead and terminate his employment due to failure to pass a drug test. Since then they have denied his unemployment and has hindered him getting hired at respectable employers due to a non-reliable status that they give when they call to check references. We have a family of three small children and I am on maternity leave returning to work with only 15 hours a week. Since they have denied his unemployment we are two months behind on our rent and all of our utility bills are at disconnect status. We can not afford an attorney and have an appeal date of Friday Sept 25, 2009 for his unemployment. We wondered on to this web site and was wondering if you had any helpful tips on what we can do to try to win our case against the company. Thank You for your time.
U.S. law)? az

**A: I am sure that there is more to this story.

 

[ecmst12]

Termination is legal. Appeal the unemployment denial.

 

[commentator]

At the hearing, your husband (Not you, you will be nowhere around!) needs to tell the appeals referee in exact detail, with dates and times, what happened with this drug test. He needs to write down who he spoke with, his supervisors, the lab person, and exactly who told him what, up to the very moment of his termination. If it happened exactly as you say, it sounds as though there was a very complicated and well organized plot to terminate this person, orchestrated by management.

This may not be exactly the way the former employer sees it, and they will doubtless have their side of the story prepared to tell. Your husband tells his anyway.

He needs to explain this situation very clearly during the unemployment appeal. He will be speaking first, and he needs to emphasize everything he did to try to complete this drug test, what he was told by whom and when, including the drug lab assistant, and he needs to be very clear that he was not using drugs, that he was cooperating with doing this drug test and that he was not terminated for failing the drug test, but for failing to COMPLETE the drug test. He needs to emphasize that he was making a good faith effort to do that.

I hope he has continued to certify for weeks of benefits since he filed. If he wins the appeal, he will be backpaid for all the weeks since he filed. If he has not been doing this, he needs to call right away and reopen his claim and begin certifications for each week.

Now, that said, remember one great big old thing. He needs to go to the hearing and tell about the drug test and how he came to be terminated. But for goodness sake, he does not need to mention how poor he is, how bad he's been treated, and how desperate you all are for income.

Unemployment insurance is not a needs based program. It will accomplish nothing to tell them you are poor and desperate, or that his former employer has been keeping him from getting other jobs. If he gets approved for his unemployment, he can tell other companies that he interviews for that he was discharged unfairly and that he will discuss his situation with this company. But he'd been a successful employee for a long time, right? He was NOT using drugs. He did everything he could to keep his job, made every effort to cooperate with the drug testing. That is what he will need to say in his hearing for unemployment. His word will be just as good as that of the company.