Drugs & Alcohol: Being Impaired at Work Is Just Cause to Fire Safety-Sensitive Railway Worker

A track operations foreman got fired after a post-incident test came back positive for cocaine. The union contended that the penalty was a gross over-reaction resulting from an unfair investigation. The federal arbitrator upheld termination. True, the foreman had never been disciplined for drug use during his 14-year tenure. But being impaired while on duty was a highly serious offence, especially considering how safety-sensitive his job was [Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Maintenance of Way Employees Division v Canadian Pacific Railway Company, 2022 CanLII 1064 (CA LA), January 3, 2022].