HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut state worker fired after he was caught smoking marijuana on the job was punished too harshly and should get his job back, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday.
Gregory Linhoff was fired from his maintenance job at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington in 2012 after a police officer caught him smoking pot in a state-owned vehicle. He had no previous disciplinary problems since being hired in 1998 and had received favorable job evaluations, according to his union. He was arrested, but the charges were later dismissed.
State officials said firing the New Hartford resident was the only appropriate penalty for his conduct and not doing so would send a bad message to other employees. An arbitrator disagreed and overturned the firing, saying Linhoff instead should be suspended without pay for six months and be subject to random drug testing for a year after he returned to work. MORE
This is all fun and games until he screws something up at work as a result of his pot smoking and somebody else gets seriously injured or killed.
So he comes back in 6 months and gets fired for failing a drug test.
Pot addicts, like alcoholics, rarely reform before hitting rock bottom, and often don’t even reform then.
Soros funded marijuana legalization(and other drugs) efforts in several states to the tune of almost a half a billion dollars. Do you think he did that for grins? If you smoke this shit, as I did in my early 20s, you’re fucking crazy. Plus the reefer I was smoking is no where as potent as what is being smoked now.
Now with an obvious no drugs policy, CT is being told, that ain’t right. So what happens when said employee plows through a stop sign and wipes out a couple peds? Oh he’s depressed and taking drugs, sorry.
When I had employees, I made it very clear that coming back from lunch high would warrant an immediate firing.
Fucking country needs a huge reset.
How stupid are people? Suspended without pay for 6 months???? How is that any better that firing him? A hollow victory for those who are soft.
FUCKMEstupid……
Gitmo killers released.
Hillary skates.
A dumbass keeps his job.
Rule of law…RIP
Is this a great country or what?
Smoking dope at work probably doesn’t make one any more an objectionable employee than affirmative action, trans-gender outreach, or lazy, drunk, worthless run-of-the-mill union slug would be.
Really! Would you rather have a sober Quad-Gender/Negro/Queer/Asian/izlamic/Women’s/Goat-Butt-Sniffing Studies Graduate from an Ivy League College?
izlamo delenda est …
Can’t hire them in my biz.
Their idea of killing roaches is to smoke them.
Found that out after wondering why it was taking the new guy all day to do a 1 hour job.
j/k
“When I had employees, I made it very clear that coming back from lunch high would warrant an immediate firing. ”
I don’t think this applies to you at all, MM. But…
I once watched a new small partner in a business try to fire the original-owner boss’ son for what he thought was pot smoking out back.
Maybe the son was, but he fired him so fast and without actually knowing, it all blew up in his face and nothing came of it.
Being fired immediately, the son had no obligation to admit anything – he wasn’t an employee any more. lol
Besides the facts that the big boss would never let it stand and guy ran half the routes accounting for around $150,000 a year – back in 1989 that was decent money. He would not be easy to replace quickly and the revenue stream would take a serious hiccup and downturn. If that guy left, he would have taken almost half the business with him because the customers can use whatever service they want and they wanted him. Their loyalty to him was stronger than to the company itself. He was the only guy those customers had for 20 years. That new partner almost crashed the company with his knee-jerk decision.
P.S. I have fired those I found doing drugs. Take my customers, if you can. Not likely since you were looking for work when we met and unwilling or unable to run a biz in the first place.
These judges are isolated from the repercussions of their rulings.
Until that changes these kind of crazy rulings will become more and more the norm.
what about the states “liability insurance”?
don’t tell me this ruling won’t increase their rates.
then what judge?
sounds like the taxpayers have a lawsuit and impeachment case.
in a moral country that is, where there is a rule of law.
USCG Academy moving in 3… 2… 1…
Dadof4, my employees were craftsmen and while most over the years were a pleasure to work with & along side, there was enough drama that I don’t miss having a large studio, well 12 employees large-I was a crappy manager and when my shop foreman quit for some new challenges(she was too smart for the job), I decided I had had it, sold my buildings and have worked pretty much solo for the last 15 years.
I remember one time coming into the work area and someone asking if Jim was late again-I said I fired him for being consistently late. Husssh fell over the shop.
I’m shocked he was even given a 6 month suspension. Did you notice he worked through a union? After I read that, I was expecting a fully paid vacation stint at a first class “rehab”.
A friend of mine works as a supervisor and is responsible for 60 people. Mostly right out of school because it’s a low-paying grunt work job. One of her employees started a fight (fist fight) with another one and it was all on the security camera tape. Employee 1 got fired.
Union made them un-fire her and now she’s back to work.
Another employee is always 15 minutes late. Written up many times and they finally told her she would be fired next time she was late. Union said no and they allow her to come in 15 minutes late. She is now coming in 1/2 late, but they are not going to do anything about it.
My friend is looking for work elsewhere.
“I remember one time coming into the work area and someone asking if Jim was late again-I said I fired him for being consistently late. Husssh fell over the shop. ”
hahahah I love that sh*t. The moment they recognize reality isn’t what they thought and straighten up.
I have a few of these stories as well. I still find them funny to this day.
“My friend is looking for work elsewhere.”
Sounds like your friend could have gotten double pay by joining the union & getting paid while never showing up because she’s busy working a second job.