The Company has never paid overtime for time missed and should not be required to do so here. This case focuses on the implications of being tested under the Company's drug and alcohol free workplace policy. The policy gives the Company the authority to require an employe to undergo a urine screen whenever there is reasonable cause to believe the employe has been under the influence of alcohol or prohibited drugs while at work. The Union and the Grievant do not challenge the existence of reasonable cause to require the Grievant to submit to the test, therefore, I do not address that question. Rather, the question is to what extent must an employe be recompensed for time lost at work during the mandatory suspension awaiting the test results when the results are negative.
All parties agree that the employe is entitled to back pay for lost work time.
The question is whether that includes regular overtime. As a starting point, it should be noted that the fact that the Grievant does work overtime on a daily basis is not seriously disputed. The Grievant testified that he worked 13.5 hours of overtime two weeks prior to the event, 8.75 hours of overtime the week prior to the event, 14.5 hours of overtime the week after the event and 13.5 hours of overtime two weeks after the event, averaging approximately 12.5 hours of overtime per week. He also testified that he has continued to work approximately the same amount of overtime since that time. The Company does not dispute these figures.