Claimant was employed as an Assistant Signalman on Job 400-02 (Crew 2) in Berkeley, Illinois. On July 9, 1991, Claimant was required to take a Department of Transportation (DOT) physical examination in accordance with DOT Safety Regulations. A urine sample taken during that physical tested positive for cocaine in Claimant's system. As a result, Claimant was removed from service pending Investigation. Subsequent to the Investigation, Claimant was dismissed from carrier's service.

The Organization attempted to discredit the urinalysis results by claiming: 1) that the required "chain of custody" of Claimant's specimen was not maintained; and 2) that a subsequent urinalyses to which Claimant voluntarily subjected himself yielded negative results. Neither argument is persuasive. The organization failed to discredit the chain of custody. Further, once an initial positive test result was obtained, a confirming chromatography/mass spectrometry test was performed by the laboratory. That test also yielded positive results.

The two urinalyses to which Claimant voluntarily submitted took place eight and thirteen days, respectively, from the date his initial urine specimen was obtained. Moreover, Claimant did not submit "chain of custody" verification or certification of the laboratory performing analysis of the later specimens in his defense. Accordingly, they cannot be considered to refute the initial test results.

Under the circumstances, the Board finds no basis upon which to disturb Carrier's assessment of discipline.

AWARD