Court upholds hospital that fired employee who refused drug test. Kemp v. Clairborne County Hospital.
An employee at 23-bed Claiborne County Hospital, Port Gibson, MS, who sued the hospital after she was terminated for refusing to comply with the facility's drug-testing program, has lost her case, but the hospital is changing its testing methods to avoid future problems. The testing procedure was initiated because the hospital believed it had reasonable grounds to suspect that a mass drug test of its employees would turn up evidence of work-related drug or alcohol use. The test proved that a few hospital employees were using substances while working, says Melvin H. McFatter, Port Gibson, the hospital's attorney. The employees were given advance written notice of the date and place of the test. All employees gave advance written consent to the test. Blood and urine samples were drawn.
D004651:Employment / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D006743:Hospital Bed Capacity, under 100; D006801:Humans; D016365:Liability, Legal; D008922:Mississippi; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*