Smith County Sch. Dist. v. Barnes


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Docket Number: 2010-CT-00681-SCT
Linked Case(s): 2010-CA-00681-COA ; 2010-CA-00681-COA ; 2010-CT-00681-SCT

Supreme Court: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 06-07-2012
Opinion Author: Chandler, J.
Holding: Court of Appeals affirmed; Chancery court reversed and rendered.

Additional Case Information: Topic: Termination of employment - Failure to submit to drug test - Reasonable suspicion
Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Carlson and Dickinson, P.JJ., Kitchens, Pierce and King, JJ.
Non Participating Judge(s): Randolph and Lamar, JJ.
Procedural History: Admin or Agency Judgment
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - OTHER

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 03-10-2010
Appealed from: Smith County Chancery Court
Judge: Joe Dale Walker
Disposition: REVERSED AND RENDERED THE BOARD’S UNANIMOUS DECISION BY REINSTATING BARNES’S 2008-09 CONTRACT WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND REINSTATING HER AS A TEACHER
Case Number: 2009-180

  Party Name: Attorney Name:   Brief(s) Available:
Appellant: Smith County School District




G. DAVID GARNER



 

Appellee: Laura Shontelle Barnes EUGENE COURSEY TULLOS  

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Topic: Termination of employment - Failure to submit to drug test - Reasonable suspicion

Summary of the Facts: Laura Barnes was employed as an elementary school teacher with the Taylorsville Elementary School in the Smith County School District for eleven years before she was terminated on May 12, 2009. Barnes was terminated for refusing to take a drug test, which was a violation of the District’s drug and alcohol policy. The Smith County School Board held a hearing in which the Board heard evidence from Barnes and the District. The Board affirmed the District’s Superintendent of Education’s decision to terminate Barnes’s employment. Barnes appealed, and the chancery court reversed the Board’s decision and reinstated Barnes’s employment, finding that the Board’s decision was arbitrary or capricious and was not supported by substantial evidence. The Board appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed and rendered the chancery court’s holding. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Summary of Opinion Analysis: Barnes was terminated for her failure to submit to a drug test. Her termination was based on reasonable suspicion pursuant to the District’s policy. Section 4(a) of the Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy defines reasonable suspicion as the “belief by Smith County School District that an employee is using or has used drugs or alcohol in violation of Smith County School District's policy.” The District’s reasonable suspicion was based on (ii) of that Section: abnormal conduct or erratic behavior while at work, absenteeism, tardiness, or deterioration in work performance. The policy also provides that an employee may notify the District of recently used prescription or nonprescription drugs before taking the test. At the hearing, Barnes stated that she was aware of the drug testing policy and that she had in fact refused to take the drug test. The Board’s decision was not arbitrary or capricious. The policy explicitly states the consequences for an employee who refuses to take a drug test when requested. Prior to the incident, Barnes had been employed at Taylorsville Elementary for eleven years. At the hearing, Barnes admitted to refusing the test and admitted she was aware of the District’s drug-testing policy. She knew that she could be requested to take a drug test if the District had reasonable suspicion to request a test. She was aware of the potential consequences if she refused to comply. The policy states that “[a]ny employee who refuses to take a drug and alcohol test will be subject to discipline, up to and including immediate termination of employment.” The Board relied on the policy’s clear language when affirming the termination of Barnes’s employment, and its decision was well-reasoned.


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