Dronabinol/Marinol and Your Employment Urinalysis
78How has your employer treated you since your urinalysis?
Some tips about maintaining your civil rights could help you. I'll tell some things I found out along the way. I want to be clear about something first. Just know I am not a lawyer or a doctor and can only share my experience. I hope you find this information inciteful and helpful. My recommendations are just that recommendations. They are not legal instructions. However, you must read on.
Did your employer order a random drug test via urinalysis only to send you home, after the Medical Review Officer (MRO) stated clearly that you Passed the screening process? Also there had been made notation from the MRO that said "No Safety Sensitive Job Functions" If this has happened to you, please take note.
This problem became manifest when the company my husband worked for for 12 years claimed he was too much of a safety risk to himself and others due to medication intake. Why? These are the same people who placed him in this position during a time he was recovering from surgery and was being weaned off of morphine. Had anyone reported him sleepy? Did he waiver in his walking strides? Did his immediate supervisor know that he was taking this medicine prior to this UA? What was going on here? He was sent home and was left in the lurch financially and was in the dark about what he was going to do to provide for his family. My husband always gave at least 100% of his heart into his job. His attendance was excellent, his work ethic was superb, and he treated others with utmost respect, but there was one big problem.....he had incurred a work related injury that caused him to be in excruciating pain 24 hours a day 7 days a week and was deemed at a class 4 disability rating. My husband was taking a medication called Dronabinol which is the generic form of Marinol. This is made with 1 of 37 different cannaboids found in natural marijuana. This is not at all derived from the natural plant. It is 100% synthetic, USDA approved, and is legal in all 50 states. It is closely monitored and regulated and comes in uniform dosage amounts.
(Refer to bottom of page. "Tips") A request was made to his employer to obtain certified copies of my husbands records (they have a 45 day window to send them to you by law) As we examined his medical file some disturbing information was revealed that could be misleading and defamatory. There was no section on the Medical Review Officer's (MRO's) analysis evaluation that indicated the medication my husband being perscribed was actually synthetic. So in essence there was a false positive recorded for Marijuana metabolite. This situation had to be clarified to his employer yet they didn't seem to want to listen. We believe the company used this as a smoke screen to try to intimidate, harrass and deceive my husband and fool his coworkers while still keeping the moral of the workplace high. He went for a UA one day and the next day he is no longer working there. What would you think? Would you not assume this employee flunked their UA and was illegally consuming drugs? Don't be so fast to make rash assumptions.
The employer claimed not to be doctors yet they kept trying to override my Pain Specialist Doctors' clearance-for-work. We found out from a Independant Medical Examiner who also was a MRO and a Drug Rehabilitation Doctor that your Treating Physicians clearance-for-work document will TRUMP or overrule the Medical Review Officers (UA officer, MD.) recommendations. Your doctor has the final say! The MRO admitted she didn't do chronic pain medication issues. FYI: It is also illegal for your employer to obtain personal information about you that is not job related. This violates your right to privacy. Eventually my husband was terminated for no good reason. If you start your organized paper trail early on you will be that much further ahead to tell the facts with dated reminders.
Just because you work for a big company don't be intimidated by their tomfoolery. That is what they are counting on.
Please feel free to comment. Thank you.
You might find the tips provided useful and keep any and all records of each and every attorney you have tried to contact, what they said to you and their contact information. If you can't find legal help before the statute of limitations runs out, and later find out you had a case, the list of attorney contacts you documented before will be a possible action extender.
Note: The minute you think you are being discriminated against be sure to write to your state Bureau of Labor and Industries to report any suspected employment wrongdoing. Be sure the allegations entries are brief and accurate. Then they will probably send the case on to the eeoc. Even if these two entities close your file, you may request within a certain period of time, a substantial weight review of the case file. If it is still found that they aren't going to pursue it, you will get a letter from them stating if you have a legal right to sue. You will be given only a window of opportunity to do so. I highly recommed reading all paperwork sent to you on the front and back side of the pages so as not to miss any instructions as to your civil rights.
1st Tip: Request your employer make accomodations for you at the job position you are working (light duty or not, temporary or not). Get this request sent to them in writing and send it Registered Mail with a receipt so you know (have proof) they got it. By law they are supposed to do so as long as it doesn't cause the company a hardship and they employ 50 or more people.
2nd Tip: Begin documenting everything! Keep a journal or type it up on a word document and keep it for future reference. Date every paper and document dates of things you may recall happened earlier. Get coworkers names and phone numbers. Keep all emails relevant to this situation. Be sure you have hard copies as well as computer documents.
3rd Tip: Do not lose your temper, always stay calm, at least in front of your employer. If you don't they can use this excuse to fire you. If they terminate your employment be sure you request the reason why in writing. If their reason is not clear, ask them to clarify it.
4th Tip: You will want to ask all parties present at any meeting if they mind if you record the meeting if you wish to do so. All parties must consent or you are bound by law (in most states) to abstain from doing this. Do not always rely on just any website for legal information. Use the .gov web sites to look up the laws in your state or contact an attorney.
5th Tip: If they offer you a meager severance package, be slow about accepting if you choose to do so. You may be waiving your rights to bring a discrimination suit against them if you accept any money like this. Be sure to factor in your net worth, including any benefits you receive from the company, vacation and sick pay they owe you, and profit sharing. Personally I would not accept the offer because I was worried that if I had accepted it there was the potential this would interfere with a discrimination lawsuit.
6th Tip: If you are unable to do your former job at injury, then you might consider requesting FMLA. It is a good way to secure health care for awhile if they grant you FMLA. If you are denied FMLA then they must have a very valid reason why. Contact an attorney if you are harassed about this.
7th Tip: Go online and do research about your civil rights. I recommend using the websites that say .gov at the end because then you should be provided with accurate information and instructed on what recourse you could take.
8th Tip: Request certified copies of any and all records or personel files whether kept in the same place or in various places, pay stubs, discipline records, medical file, etc. They are to provide that to you within a certain period of time by law. Write this request on paper, date it and send it registered mail with a receipt.
9th Tip: If you think you have a case yet no attorney's office will give you enough time to explain your issue and deny you service then BE PERSISTENT and continue to seek representation. Legal Aid or the State Bar can usually help. You may have to contact them more than once about the same issue.
10th Tip: You may want to keep your words private to your attorney but always be honest and up front to him/her. Allow your attorney to advise you and do what he/she instructs you to do. Keep open communication with him/her. Ask about potentail costs and time frames. Prepare your questions ahead of time. Be short and sweet. Attorney's can cost a lot yet some work on a contingency basis.
Government Resources to help you
