Drunk worker keeps his job because of printer malfunction
June 11, 2009 by Sam NarisiPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Regulations & Compliance
Anyone working in an office knows how much trouble equipment glitches can cause. But here’s a case where a printer problem put one business in an unusual predicament.
A Denver employee fired for drinking at work can’t be terminated, because the city failed to print out the results of a Breathalyzer test, a hearing officer recently ruled.
John Delgado works for the city as an equipment-operator specialist. In 2007, he failed a drug test required for all employees in safety-sensitive positions.
Rather than lose his job, he sought treatment and was required to abstain from drugs and alcohol for three years. He was fired after he failed an alcohol test last year.
The problem: The printer attached to the Breathalyzer machine malfunctioned and failed to print the results.
Even though Delgado didn’t dispute that he’d been drinking, the hearing officer decided he should keep his job because the city lacked hard proof. He was returned to his position and given back pay for the time he was out of work.
The city plans to appeal the ruling. In the meantime, the printer has been fixed and a backup system has been installed.
Lesson: This is an extreme case, but it underlines the need to buy robust printers, keeping them well maintained, and making sure there are alternatives if a key printer goes down.
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Tags: malfunction, printer
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November 11th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Fair whack I say. If Denver City cannot produce the hard evidence, then the guy is off the hook. They will make sure they get it right next time, I’ll bet. In the meantime, it should inspire the lucky employee to do the right thing, or get the boot for sure.
November 15th, 2009 at 12:34 am
The breathalyzer machine probably didn’t have the option, but what I do if a printer is malfunctioning is print to PDF and then make a hardcopy from that when possible.
I agree the guy got a lucky break and he should keep his nose clean (no pun intended) from now on.
November 18th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
No mention of what kind of printer it was. The breathalyzer use Windows 7? It has a tough time printing on a lot of printers.
Ralph
January 12th, 2010 at 11:27 am
[...] 5. Drunk worker keeps his job because of printer malfunction [...]