COMPANY SUES FORMER EMPLOYEE OVER FAILED DRUG TEST

The company that fired a man for testing positive on a drug screening
has filed a civil suit in Hardin Circuit Court against the former
employee and the state unemployment office.

Failure to pass a drug screening didn't keep Daniel J. Sayre of Vine
Grove from receiving unemployment benefits after he was fired by his
employer. The unemployment office authorized his benefits after Sayre
said he was the victim of a prank and had been forced to ingest pot
smoke, court records show.

Sayre, who worked as a materials handler for Fort Knox contractor
Kellogg Brown and Root Technical Services, also known as KBR, tested
positive for marijuana on June 23, 2003. The company maintains a
strict policy against any workers having illegal drugs in their body,
so Sayre was fired, court records show.

No one from the KBR office, Sayre, nor their lawyers could be reached
for comment Friday.

Sayre told investigators with the unemployment office and a counselor
at Hub City Educational Counseling Services that several people held
him down on the night of June 22, 2003 and blew marijuana smoke into
his face. He said he tried to get up but was unable to and Sayre
claimed the group thought it would be funny since he says he neither
drinks alcohol nor takes illegal drugs, court records show.

Sayre, who never filed a police report or told his bosses at KBR about
the incident, was tested the next day for drugs and fired on June 28,
2003. The drug counselor agreed with Sayre's story and said he had
been the victim.

KBR employees are given a second chance for employment upon the
completion of drug counseling, but Sayre refused since he contends he
did nothing wrong, court records show.

In a series of filings with the court from both sides, there has been
an argument over whether Sayre should be considered in violation of
the company's policy since he possibly was a victim and not a willing
user of marijuana.

"To knowingly violate a policy a worker must . make a voluntary
decision to violate the policy," the unemployment commission report
reads, in part. "The claimant did not voluntarily decide to ingest
marijuana; rather, it was forced upon him. Therefore the claimant did
not knowingly violate the policy and no misconduct exists ."

The commission report, filed in August, also said Sayre lost his job
through no fault of his own.

Both sides claim, in various court documents, to be the injured party
in the matter. The suit is expected to be heard by Hardin Circuit
Court Judge Kelly Mark Easton sometime next year unless a settlement
can be reached, court records show.