A Cautionary Tale Regarding The "Reasonable Belief" Doctrine

On January 31, the Sixth Circuit published a cautionary tale regarding the "reasonable belief" doctrine involving an employer that fired a disabled employee for a positive drug test for "marijuana."

In Fisher v. Airgas USA, LLC, Fisher was an operation technician who used power tools, worked with combustible gases, and drove a company vehicle. Fisher was diagnosed with liver cancer, and when he required surgery, the company gave him eight weeks of leave. When Fisher returned from leave, he was experiencing significant pain as a result of ongoing treatment, and he began to use "Free Hemp," which was not prohibited by Airgas' policies.

Shortly thereafter, Airgas selected Fisher for a random drug test, which the drug testing vendor HireRight reported to be positive for "marijuana." Fisher denied using marijuana, asked for a retest, and explained his use of Free Hemp might have caused the false positive. Airgas agreed to retest but used the same sample for the