Judge: Repeated demands for drug test can be harassment

A Pennsylvania court has ruled that a former housekeeper at Pittsburgh’s Angelus Convalescent Center can collect unemployment compensation even though she quit. The reason: A bottle-waving boss badgered her so often to take drug tests that it amounted to harassment.

The woman had previously been fired by the nursing home because of theft allegations that later turned out to have been fabricated. Once cleared of the charges, she was rehired—and began working again for the same supervisor who had falsely accused her.

During the rehiring process, the housekeeper had to take a drug test, which she passed. Three days later the same supervisor behind the earlier accusations demanded she take a “random” drug test. Citing her recent negative drug test, she refused.

The next week, the supervisor again waved a specimen bottle at her, with the same result. Six days later, it happened again. That’s when the housekeeper complained to the facility’s executive director, who took no action. Finally, the housekeeper resigned and filed for unemployment benefits.

The nursing home contested her application and eventually the case wound up in court. There, the judge granted the woman’s application for unemployment benefits. He ruled that while employers are free to conduct random drug tests, doing so repeatedly following a passed drug test constitutes harassment.