Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No. 27704
THIRD DIVISION Docket No. MW-27966
89-3-87-3-508
The Third Division consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee Stanley E. Kravit when award was rendered.
(Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
(Southern Pacific Transportation Company (Eastern Lines)
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: "Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood that:
(1) The dismissal of Machine Operator L. Harvey for alleged failure
to successfully complete drug screening testing was without just and sufficient cause, arbitrary, on
the Agreement (System File MW-86-104/457-2-A and X419-93-A).
(2) The claimant shall be reinstated with seniority and all other
rights unimpaired and he shall be allowed to exercise his seniority."
FINDINGS:
The Third Division of the Adjustment Board upon the whole record and
all the evidence, finds that:
The carrier or carriers and the employe or employes involved in this
dispute are respectively carrier and employes within the meaning of the
Railway Labor Act as approved June 21, 1934.
This Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over the
dispute involved herein.
Parties to said dispute waived right of appearance at hearing thereon.
On July 27, 1984, the Claimant sustained an on-duty personal injury
at Houston, Texas. He returned to work and on August 1, 1984, he was
instructed to submit to a drug screening test. On August 3, 1984, the Carrier
received a laboratory report indicating that the test was positive for
marijuana.
As a consequence, the Claimant was charged with a violation of the
Carrier's Rule G, a hearing was held on August 29, 1984, and, subsequent
thereto, the Claimant was dismissed from the Carrier's service. Thereafter, a
claim was presented to the Carrier and progressed in the usual manner to the
designated officer of the Carrier at the highest appellate level.
In the meantime, the Claimant enrolled and participated in the Carrier's Employee Assistance Program
On March 14, 1985, the parties agreed to dispose of the claim on the
Claimant's behalf by his reinstatement on a leniency basis. The agreement
stated in part:
Form 1 Award No. 27704
Page 2 Docket No. MW-27966
89-3-87-3-508
"It is understood that Mr. Harvey has participated
in the Carrier's Drug Rehabilitation Program and
has been approved to return to service. Mr. Harvey
will be required to pass the Carrier's usual re
turn-to-work physical and may be required to under
go additional drug screening during the twelve
month period following his return to service.
In the event Mr. Harvey's seniority will not allow
his immediate recall to service, his name will be
returned to the appropriate place on the seniority
roster and he will be recalled in accordance with
the current agreement."
By letter of March 15, 1985, the Claimant was notified of his reinstatement "with seniority and
In April, 1986, the Claimant was recalled to service. He was tested
on April 14, 1986, following which the test was reported as positive for cocaine, opiates and mariju
Claim is that, despite Claimant's failure to pass the drug screening test on
April 14, 1986, he could not be discharged without benefit of an Investigation.
The Carrier's position is that a condition of his reinstatement was
that he remain drug free, subject to testing upon recall and random testing
thereafter. However, a close examination of the letter of March 15, 1985, as
well as the agreement of March 14, 1985, upon which it is based, does not
support the further contention that Claimant was automatically subject to
discharge if he failed to pass his recall physical or any random test thereafter. He was reinstated
of these rights is the right to an Investigation if the Carrier seeks to
dismiss him from service.
Although Claimant was given a proper Investigation in 1984, he received no Investigation in 1986
Article 14, Discipline and investigation, a condition of the March 14, 1985
reinstatement agreement, should the Claimant fail a subsequent drug screening
test, that agreement should have said so explicitly. See, for example, Award
219 of Special Board of Adjustment 280, submitted by Carrier, where the reinstatement agreement in q
"...
failure to comply with the conditions as set forth above... will result in (Claimant's) being re
service of this Company without recourse." (Emphasis added.) This is the
condition lacking in the agreement of March 14, 1985.
Form 1 Award No. 27704
Page 3 Docket No. MW-27966
89-3-87-3-508
Rights under Article 48, Unjust Treatment, and Article 14 are too
important to be waived by inference.
We therefore conclude that the Carrier's failure to conduct an Investigation after March 14, 198
in Part 2 of the Statement of Claim. He is, however, subject to the normal
physical examination and drug testing requirements of Carrier for an employe
who has been out of service for an extended period.
A W A R D
Claim sustained in accordance with the Findings.
NATIONAL
RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT
BOARD
By Order of Third Division
Attest:
Nancy ver - Executive Secretary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 2nd day of February 1989.