[sfarhadi]

I tested positive on a random urine test at work alcohol level of 0.05%, I have been discharged and have a grievance hearing coming up tomorrow, how can I fight this and prove that I wasn't impaired? I live in CA and work for a cement plant

[smoothy]

If it registered.. then all research and studies on the subject show you were in fact impaired, long before you felt the effects of it yourself. The thresholds for impairment weren't a random number...research proved all subject have measurable impairments at the lowest threshold.

I think your chances of winning are very, very low. WITH a fantastic lawyer. Zero if you defend yourself.

[ebaines]

Does your employer have a written policy regarding alcohol consumption? A BAC of 0.05% is below the level of being legally impaired with respect to driving in all states. However, given that your employer does random checks I suspect that they probably have a more stringent policy, which should be in writing and which you should have agreed to as a condition of employment. For example many employers have a policy that you are considered to be "under the influence" if alcohol is found in your body to be "more than an identifiable trace," which 0.05% certainly is. Is that what your employer's policy states? If so, I think your only recourse is to ask that they produce the consent form that presumably you signed when you were hired in which you acknowledged the policy - perhaps if they have lost it, or you never signed one in the first place, you can plead ignorance of the policy.