MEDICAL POT CAREGIVER SUES CASCADE STEEL

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The420Guy

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A former employee of Cascade Steel Rolling Mills in McMinnville is suing
the
company for $1.46 million, alleging he was wrongfully terminated after
testing positive for marijuana.

Douglas Heuer, a registered caregiver in the state's medical marijuana
program, contends Cascade officials engaged in unlawful employment
practices, wrongful discharge and breach of good faith when they dismissed
him in July 2001.

The firing came eight months after the crane Heuer was operating damaged a
power line, prompting company managers to ask the 44-year-old man to
submit
to drug and alcohol testing. According to court records, the testing
turned
up traces of marijuana and Heuer was placed on probation.

Heuer contends his ex-wife, Camie Heuer, used marijuana to treat a
disability and his positive test was the result of exposure to second-hand
smoke. That didn't fly with Cascade officials, who told Heuer that he
could
return to his job of 22 years only if he tested negative for drugs.

He succeeded in that in January 2001. But a followup test showed positive
for marijuana a few months later, and the company told Heuer he was out of
chances.

Heuer contends he passed several tests, but was accused of having
manipulated the results. He seeks $78,400 in lost wages and health
insurance
benefits, $437,000 in lost pension benefits and $950,000 in noneconomic
damages stemming from alleged depression, humiliation, anger, distress and
loss of dignity and self-esteem.

He also blames the trauma for ending his marriage. He filed for divorce a
month after his termination and Polk County Judge Charles Luukinen signed
off on it last December.

Heuer alleges Cascade did not have reasonable grounds to test him, and
that
managers failed to act in accordance with a good faith agreement after the
initial test came up positive.

But perhaps most significant - and seemingly untested by the courts since
the 1998 passage of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act - is Heuer's claim
that
Cascade unlawfully fired him on the basis of his association with a
disabled
person, forming an erroneous perception that he was engaged in illegal use
of drugs.

Oregon statutes give specific protection to "a person who is erroneously
regarded as engaging in the illegal use of drugs." But the statute
provides
no test for employers to differentiate illegal from legal use.

Human Resources Manager Mike Hereford said he was not aware of the suit,
but
was well aware of the situation. He said the company acted lawfully in its
dealings with Heuer.

"We're confident that there is no basis for a lawsuit, and in the end, it
will be proven what we did was completely legal," he said.

Hereford said Cascade is very serious about its drug and alcohol policy.
"This is a tough place to work, and we expect people to be completely
drug-free," he said.

Keizer attorney Michael Callahan is representing Heuer. He was unavailable
for comment this morning.

By MATTHEW D. LaPLANTE
Of the News-Register
Pubdate: Sat, 23 Nov 2002
NewsRegister.com - News and information for McMinnville and Yamhill Valley, Oregon - wine country newspaper
 
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