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A B.C. man who was fired after he refused to allow his work to do drug and alcohol tests on him  has been awarded $160,000 in a Human Rights Tribunal case.

The 28-year-old, referred to only as K, worked in sales in the Lower Mainland for concrete firm RMC Ready Mix, according to the Tribunal decision released this month.

K had worked for the company for several years making $96,000 a year when in 2017 he was briefly hospitalized and diagnosed with substance use and bipolar disorders.

The decision says for several years before K started working at the firm, he was binge-drinking and using cocaine.

During the Human Rights Tribunal hearing, K testified it was hard to know when he's "crossed the invisible line" between recreationally using alcohol and cocaine and developing a substance abuse condition.

After his stint in hospital in 2017 he told the company about his mental health and substance abuse issues.

The company was very receptive and covered the cost of a four-month residential treatment program, which K successfully completed in February 2018.

After completing the program, K relapsed, but in May 2018 he was given the all-clear to return to work by an addictions specialist he'd been working with.

The company required K to sign a written agreement setting out certain conditions, including that he abstain from alcohol and drugs and undergo monthly random testing for two years.

However, K refused to consent to the random drug tests.

The decision goes through a very lengthy play-by-play of communication K had with the firm in preparation for going back to work and his refusal to consent to the drug tests.

"Be advised that I will not be taking any drug test as it is discriminatory and a breach of human rights legislation," K wrote in an letter to the company. "As you’re aware, I serve in a sales role which is a non-safety-sensitive position. Therefore, the company has no legal right to require that I undertake a drug test before being allowed to return to work. I have already provided medical documentation from my GP that states I’m cleared to return to work. I’ll provide you with further medical documentation next week after I meet with my psychiatrist."

After K's repeated refusal to consent to the random tests, RMC Ready Mix fired him.

The company said he'd rejected its offer of help and he'd refused to participate in its process of accommodating him.

K then filed a Human Rights Tribunal case.

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Under cross-examination during the hearing, K denied the reason he didn't want to take the test was so he could hide his drug use from his employer, although his reasons against taking the test aren't immediately clear.

"K said he found the company’s process to be 'unprofessional' and believed his return to work was being predicated on things that might be violating his human rights," the decision reads.

In a letter to the company, K wrote that while the company had been very supportive of his medical issues, its recent communications were "hurtful, discriminatory and a breach of its obligations in the accommodation process."

The decision says K was "devastated" when he was terminated.

"K called it a 'gross oversimplification' to say that his refusal to take the (drug) test was what resulted in the termination of his employment and said the issue for him was that his employer would not even have a conversation unless he took it and signed the return to work agreement," the decision reads.

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The company argued it had used the same process for three other employees that had had substance abuse issues.

A manager testified that it was critical that employees returning to a worksite, particularly employees with an addiction, are abstinent from drugs and alcohol. 

The company argued that if workers weren't sober they could hurt themselves, members of the public, customers, and other staff members.

However, the Tribunal ruled the company had not proved that it could not do anything else to ensure that K could safely return to work.

While K's job in sales meant travelling to multiple construction sites, the Tribunal found the company hadn't fully explored whether K could work from the office.

Internal company emails also show that managers believed K's refusal to consent to the drug test was so he could "presumably continue with his addiction."

However, the Tribunal points out that the undisputed evidence shows K was not using drugs or alcohol at the time he was attempting to return to work.

Ultimately, the Tribunal sided with K.

"The (company) has not persuaded me that the requirements imposed on K before he could return to work were reasonably necessary," the Tribunal ruled.

The Tribunal ordered $159,000 in lost wages and $20,000 in compensation for injury to his dignity, feelings, and self-respect.

The decision says K has been sober for more than two years and is now an apprentice plumber.

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