Pubdate: Sat, 20 Aug 2016 Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Copyright: 2016 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.utsandiego.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386 Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area. HIGH COURT SIDES WITH POT-SMOKING EMPLOYEE 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 was arrested, but the charges were later dismissed. State officials said firing the New Hartford resident was the only appropriate penalty for his conduct. 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. All seven justices agreed that a lower court judge was wrong to overturn the arbitrator's ruling. Justices also said that judicial second-guessing of arbitration awards is uncommon and should be reserved only for extraordinary circumstances. "The misconduct at issue was completely unacceptable, and we do not condone it," Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers wrote in the decision. "By the arbitrator's estimation, (Linhoff's) personal qualities and overall record indicate that he is a good candidate for a second chance." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom