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."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom