Court Opinion

ID: 9570769
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:26:06.886214+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:13:24.902457
License: Public Domain

TYSON, Judge,
dissenting.
Yolandra Best and Roy Hudson (collectively “petitioners”) failed to show that the Department of Health and Human Services, John Umstead Hospital (“JUH”) did not have “reasonable cause” to suspect that petitioners were using or possessing drugs. Dr. Patricia Christian (“Dr. Christian”), director of JUH, had “reasonable cause” to request *900that petitioners submit to a drug test. Petitioners’ refusal to undergo drug testing was insubordination that justified their termination. I would reverse the superior court and affirm the State Personnel Commission’s (“SPC”) decision. I respectfully dissent.
I agree with the majority’s statement of the appropriate standard of review, and that petitioners have the burden of proof to show that respondent lacked just cause to terminate petitioners’ employment. I also agree with the majority’s conclusion that “reasonable cause is a less demanding standard than probable cause . . . .”
I do not agree with the majority’s conclusion that “application of ‘reasonable cause’ . . . did not comply with . . . the minimum protections afforded by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.” The majority opinion does not conclude that the “reasonable cause” standard in the Alcohol and Drug Free Workplace Policy (“Directive 47”) violates the United States and/or the North Carolina Constitutions. The majority opinion holds that “JUH did not have reasonable cause to request that [petitioners] submit to drug testing.”
Directive 47 provides that “reasonable cause” must exist before any State employee is required to submit to a drug test.
When management has reasonable cause to believe an employee is using or is under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance in violation of this policy, the employee may be required to submit to a drug . . . test.
Directive 47 defines “reasonable cause:”
Reasonable Cause Drug Testing means testing based on a belief that an employee is using or has used alcohol or drugs in violation of the department’s policy drawn from specific objective and articulable facts and reasonable inferences drawn from those facts in light of experience. Among other things, such facts and inferences may be based on, but not limited to. one of the following:
D. Evidence that an employee is involved in the use, possession, sale solicitation, or transfer of drugs or alcohol while working or while on the employer’s premisses or operating the employer’s vehicle, machinery, or equipment.
(Emphasis supplied).
*901I. The Dispositive Issue
The dispositive issue is whether Dr. Christian, who had the ultimate decision pursuant to Directive 47 to require drug testing, had “reasonable cause to believe” that petitioners were using or possessing illegal drugs at the time she ordered the tests. This issue is under analyzed by the majority.
The majority opinion states that “[n]either Ms. Blanks, Ms. Schuchardt, Mr. Brock, nor Officer Pendleton saw evidence of abnormal or erratic behavior, nor did any of them see any indication that either petitioner was impaired.” This statement is the right observation about the wrong inquiry. Whether the evidence proves that petitioners were under the influence of illegal drugs is not the issue. Evidence of being under the influence is a factor that can lead to reasonable cause. It is not the only factor. Directive 47-D states that evidence of the use or possession of illegal drugs is sufficient.
The majority opinion does not address: (1) what facts Dr. Christian knew, (2) when she knew them, (3) what inferences she drew from those facts, (4) whether those inferences were reasonable, and (5) whether those facts and inferences objectively provide reasonable cause. The answers to those questions are dispositive of whether reasonable cause existed to order drug testing of petitioners.
II. Application of “Reasonable Cause”
Substantial evidence shows that Dr. Christian had reasonable cause to believe that petitioners were involved in the use or possession of drugs while working. Her belief was “drawn from specific objective and articulable facts and reasonable inferences drawn from those facts in light of experience,” and those facts and inferences support an objective determination of reasonable cause. This case is based on direct and circumstantial evidence and the inferences drawn from that evidence.
The majority opinion presumes that Mr. Brock arrived at the hospital having already decided, whether on his own or pursuant to Dr. Christian’s directive, to test petitioners. The record does not support this presumption.
The majority’s conclusion that “[a]fter reviewing the whole record, we note that Ms. Blanks was the only witness presented who made pertinent observations that formed the stated basis of reasonable cause prior to JUH’s request that the petitioners submit to a drug *902test” is also not supported by the evidence and grossly misstates the facts in the record. I address the evidence in the record.
A. Dr. Christian’s Affidavit and Testimony
Dr. Christian filed an affidavit and later testified before the administrative law judge. Her testimony shows: (1) what she knew, (2) when she knew it, and (3) the inferences she drew prior to making the decision to drug test petitioners. Dr. Christian testified that she first became aware of the incident when Josephine Schuchardt (“Ms. Schuchardt”), petitioners’ immediate supervisor, called her at home and reported that “she had come across a problem that she had never had before and she didn’t know how to handle it and she didn’t want to blow it.” Dr. Christian testified that Ms. Schuchardt recounted to her Amanda Blanks’ (“Ms. Blanks”) entire recollection of the events. Dr. Christian also testified that Ms. Schuchardt stated in that first telephone call that Ms. Blanks had received a “bogus— that was her [Ms. Schuchardt’s] word — bogus phone call that took her [Ms. Blanks] out of the [chart] room and during that time, the male health care tech [Mr. Hudson] went back into the record room.”
Dr. Christian testified that she directed Ms. Schuchardt to call the Butner Public Safety Department pursuant to Directive 47. Ms. Schuchardt complied. Dr. Christian then called Edgar Sanford Brock III (“Mr. Brock”), the personnel director, and informed him of Ms. Schuchardt’s report. Dr. Christian testified that she called Mr. Brock because, according to Directive 47, “the Personal director has to be involved.” Dr. Christian then called Ms. Schuchardt, told her that she had spoken with Mr. Brock at home, and that he would remain there to assist her with the investigation, if Ms. Schuchardt needed him. Ms. Schuchardt corroborated Dr. Christian’s call. Ms. Schuchardt testified that she called Mr. Brock at home. Mr. Brock was en route to JUH. Mr. Brock’s wife gave Ms. Schuchardt his mobile number, and she called him in his car.
Dr. Christian testified that Mr. Brock called her when he arrived at the hospital and “[h]e told me that he was there on the ward with Ms. Schuchardt and that the officer was searching Mr. Hudson outside and that he would call back and inform me when he had more information.”
Dr. Christian did not know petitioners personally, but knew of their positions in the Hospital. Dr. Christian testified that she considered Ms. Blanks an “honest” person “based on serving on committees *903with her and on projects that she’s worked on.” She also testified that she knew that “Mr. Brock felt that she [“Ms. Blanks] had a reputation for honesty” and that “he thought she was a very credible witness.” Dr. Christian testified that she also considered information about the demeanor of petitioners as related to her by Mr. Brock and Ms. Schuchardt.
Dr. Christian testified that Mr. Brock had “told me that [Officer Pendelton] had found a straw in Mr. Hudson’s pocket,” and that she used that information in determining “whether or not there was reasonable cause.” Dr. Christian:
inferred from this evidence that Hudson was tied very closely to the tainted straw that had disappeared. That is, in my life experience, I don’t know anyone who carries or saves plastic straw remnants. In fact, I don’t know of any use at JUH for short straw segments.
Dr. Christian concluded that “[t]he coincidence of [Mr. Hudson] being the last person with access to a powder-tainted straw segment (before it disappeared) and then being found in possession of what appeared to be the remnant segment, was too great to accept as mere coincidence.”
Dr. Christian stated in her affidavit that she and Ms. Schuchardt had reviewed the facts and “concluded that there were many suspicious circumstances that when taken as a whole lead to the inescapable conclusion that there was reasonable cause to believe that Hudson and Best had used drugs on the job.” Dr. Christian also testified that Mr. Brock “and I together agreed that [drug tests were] warranted, and I told him to go ahead and proceed with requesting . . . tests.”
Ms. Schuchardt testified that she was present when “Mr. Brock requested Ms. Best and Mr. Hudson” to submit to a drug test. Dr. Christian stated that Mr. Brock told her that “Hudson would not talk about the straw, either to deny or verify that he’d seen one in the record room” and that Ms. Best was “avoiding eye contact” when she was asked about the events of that morning. Dr. Christian stated that “[i]n my life experience, a health care worker will deny, vigorously, when falsely accused of something as serious as drug use on the job.”
Dr. Christian testified that the facts she received were related to her by Mr. Brock and Ms. Schuchardt, and that she had not made a decision to test petitioners until Mr. Brock finished his investigation. *904Dr. Christian stated that she conferred with Mr. Brock “to make sure that [she] was not making unreasonable inferences and judgments.” This testimony is consistent with and corroborated by all other individuals involved in the investigation into petitioners’ conduct.
B. Ms. Blanks’ Affidavit and Testimony
Ms. Blanks testified by affidavit and before the administrative law judge. Ms. Blanks stated that she went to work on Saturday, 15 February 1997, at approximately 9:30 a.m. to review and audit charts inside the chart room. This date was a non-scheduled work day for her, and no one expected her to be at work. Ms. Blanks approached the nurses’ station, where the chart room entry door is located. She observed Mr. Hudson exit the chart room. She continued to walk through the nurses’ station toward the chart room entry door where she saw Ms. Best exit the chart room.
Ms. Blanks entered the chart room, sat down to audit files, and observed a yellowish straw that had been cut to approximately three inches in length, car keys, and a pack of cigarettes located on a counter-top. Ms. Blanks observed a white powdery substance in one end of the straw. Ms. Blanks was the only person present in the chart room at that time. Ms. Blanks testified that she sat in the chart room for a moment and pondered what to do.
Ms. Blanks testified that she was unexpectedly summoned from the chart room to answer a telephone call in the nurses’ station. She exited the chart room and answered the telephone a few feet away from the chart room door. She testified that she “maintained a constant view of the chart room” entry door at all times. Ms. Blanks also testified that she was not “quite sure” who the person on the other line was, but speculated the voice sounded like Yvonne Sneed’s. Ms. Blanks did not know the answer to the question she was asked. Ms. Blanks stated that she was “suspicious [of the phone call] because I was not scheduled to work that day and was not working my usual ward. Sneed had not seen me at work and could not have expected me to be near the nurses station on Ward 353.” As Ms. Blanks was hanging up the telephone, she observed Mr. Hudson re-enter the chart room announcing “where are my keys.” He quickly exited the chart room with his keys and a pack of cigarettes and stated that he was “going for a smoke.”
Ms. Blanks immediately re-entered the chart room and noticed that the cut straw, car keys, and cigarettes were missing from the *905counter-top. No other person had entered or left the chart room between the time that Mr. Hudson re-entered the chart room, exited the chart room, and Ms. Blanks re-entered the chart room.
Ms. Blanks testified that after “five to ten minutes” of contemplation, she left the chart room to look for Ms. Schuchardt. Ms. Blanks located Ms. Schuchardt at approximately 10:00 a.m., and reported the events that she had witnessed, including the “suspicious” phone call that caused her to leave the chart room. They talked for approximately twenty to thirty minutes. Ms. Blanks testified that Ms. Schuchardt stated to her that the incident “[s]ounds like something I need to look into.”
C. Ms. Schuchardt’s Testimony
Ms. Schuchardt testified as a witness for petitioners. She stated that Ms. Blanks reported to her what she had witnessed and that they discussed the matter at length. Ms. Schuchardt testified that “I reported [to Dr. Christian] what [Ms. Blanks] had said and what she had observed and the series of behaviors that took place in the whole picture, not just the powder — [in] the nurses’ station, but all of the events.” (Emphasis supplied). “At the time of the phone call, it was my understanding that . . . [Mr. Hudson] was the only one that had been in [the chart room].”
Ms. Schuchardt testified that she told Dr. Christian that “I probably did give the opinion that [the telephone call] was suspicious based on the information that I had received” from Ms. Blanks. Ms. Schuchardt testified that she believed the telephone call which caused Ms. Blanks to leave the chart room “was questionable.”
Ms. Schuchardt also stated that Mr. Hudson had walked into her office unannounced, prior to his knowledge that an investigation was underway, and asked:
if I had seen [Ms. Blanks] and I said yes. And he said, ‘Well?’ And I said, ‘Well, what?’ And he said, ‘Well, did [Ms. Blanks] report to you that I was smoking in the office or on the ward?’ And I said, ‘No, she didn’t report to me that you were smoking in the office.’
Dr. Christian swore in her affidavit that she used this incident, along with others, to determine whether there was reasonable cause to require the drug tests. Petitioners attempt to attack Dr. Christian’s credibility, but they never explain this testimony. This incident is *906uncontradicted and is not considered or even mentioned in the majority opinion.
D. Mr. Brock’s Affidavit, and Testimony
Mr. Brock testified by affidavit and later at the hearing that he received a phone call from Dr. Christian about a “potential situation of possible drug use at the hospital.” Mr. Brock decided that “the best thing for me to do was to go to the hospital to provide . . . assistance .... I left on my own. [Dr. Christian] did not instruct me to leave at that point.” “This would allow me to consult with Ms. Schuchardt and report my findings to Dr. Christian.” Mr. Brock testified that he drove to JUH at approximately 12:00 p.m. Upon arrival, he walked to his office and retrieved two drug test kits “in case we might use them.” He testified that he “did not know whether we were going to [use them] or not, but there was a potential we could.” Mr. Brock testified that he called Dr. Christian to inform her that he was at the hospital. He met Lieutenant Pendelton, who had been dispatched to the hospital after Ms. Schuchardt had called the Butner Public Safety Department at Dr. Christian’s direction.
Mr. Brock stated in his affidavit that Lieutenant Pendelton conducted a search of Mr. Hudson, and requested that Ms. Schuchardt and Ms. Blanks search Ms. Best for illegal drugs. Ms. Schuchardt testified that she “never touched Ms. Best. Ms. Best removed her own clothes.” Mr. Brock testified that Lieutenant Pendelton told him that “he found a yellow straw,” after he completed his search. Mr. Brock testified that Lieutenant Pendelton told him the results of his search before Mr. Brock again called Dr. Christian to review the information he knew at that point.
Mr. Brock testified that “[a]fter [petitioners] denied any knowledge of the straw, before I moved on, I went and made a telephone call to Dr. Christian.” During a final conversation with Dr. Christian before the drug tests were ordered, Mr. Brock testified that:
[s]he asked my opinion, whether we felt reasonable cause was met. I said that is my opinion. I feel with the effects we have, it has been met. We both concurred that we would go ahead with testing, and she gave me instructions to move forward with the procedures for a drug test on these two individuals.
Dr. Christian testified that about “an hour” after Mr. Brock had first called her from the hospital, he called her again. Dr. Christian testi-*907fled that “[Mr. Brock] and I talked at — I say at length.I asked him if he thought we had enough to go with probable testing. He said yes, and I certainly agreed with that.”
E. Lieutenant Pendelton’s Testimony
Lieutenant Pendelton testified that he is employed by the State of North Carolina’s Department of Crimes Control, Public Safety. He is not an employee of JUH. He testified that when he arrived at JUH, he “made contact with Ms. Blanks and Jo Schuchardt in Ward 393.” Lieutenant Pendelton prepared an Incident/Investigation Report on 15 February 1997, the day of the incident, wherein he stated that “[t]he activities of the [petitioners] aroused Mrs. Blanks suspicion.” After discussing the events that transpired, Officer. Pendelton testified that “Ms. Schuchardt informed me that she thought [petitioners] had gone to lunch .... When I exited the building . . . [petitioners] were coming up the street.” Lieutenant Pendelton searched Mr. Hudson by consent, and “[w]hen he emptied his pockets, he emptied his right pocket and laid the contents on the hood of the truck. The yellow straw was in his right pocket — his right front pocket.” Officer Pendelton testified that he “picked [the yellow straw] up. [He] looked at it, observed a white powdery substance inside the straw, and [he] seized it.” Lieutenant Pendelton testified that he showed the straw to Ms. Blanks and that she said the yellow straw “looked like [the one she saw].” Lieutenant Pendelton testified that Mr. Hudson made no efforts to explain the straw.
III. The “Suspicious” Telephone Call
I agree with the majority that “ [information they [respondent] learned after the fact [of the demand for drug tests] may not form the basis for reasonable cause.” I do not agree that “information purportedly relied on by the SPC, such as the suggestion that Ms. Best instigated the telephone call to draw Ms. Blanks out of the chart room, was not discovered until later” negates the fact that Dr. Christian and her staff knew the phone call was “bogus” or “suspicious.” After the drug tests were ordered and refused, respondent discovered that Ms. Best had, in fact, instigated the call that caused Ms. Blanks to leave the chart room and allowed Mr. Hudson, at that time, to retrieve the cut straw. This later known fact is immaterial.
There is substantial overwhelming evidence that Dr. Christian was aware that the telephone call was “suspicious” or “bogus” from the first time she learned of the incident. Petitioners’ own witness, *908Ms. Schuchardt, testified that the call “was questionable,” and that she told Dr. Christian that the call was “suspicious.” The later discovery that the call was, in fact, instigated by Ms. Best only confirms and justifies, but does not negate, the staffs’ suspicions prior to the demand for drug tests. This later discovered fact was unknown, was not considered in the initial inquiry, and was not a factor in ordering the tests.
IV. Findings 91. 92, 93. and 94
The majority opinion quotes the superior court’s conclusions at length and summarily “agrees” that the SPC’s findings of fact 91 through 94 “are not supported by competent evidence.” The majority’s agreement is not supported by the record.
First, the quoted portion of the superior court’s conclusion states that the “record shows that Mr. Brock did not consult with Dr. Christian prior to requesting that the Petitioners submit to drug testing.” In support of this assertion, the superior court cites transcript testimony where Mr. Hudson is answering “no” to his attorney’s question “at any point during that meeting did Mr. Brock get up and leave.” The superior court also used Mr. Hudson’s “no” response to the question of whether Mr. Brook ever told him that he talked to Dr. Christian. This testimony is the superior court’s entire justification for its conclusion. This conclusion is not supported by the evidence in the record. Substantial and consistent evidence compels a contrary result.
Second, the superior court states that “[t]he reasons for Dr. Christian requesting the drug tests put forth by the Respondent and adopted by the Commission were not matters known to Dr. Christian prior to Mr. Brock’s request that the Petitioners submit to testing, but were reasons developed by the Respondent after the fact in order to justify the drug testing request.” This conclusion is unfounded.
The superior court cites testimony by Dr. Christian on cross-examination to support its conclusion. Petitioners questioned how Dr. Christian could state in her affidavit her sensorial perceptions about petitioners’ behavior at a meeting at which she was not present. Dr. Christian testified that those perceptions were conveyed to her by Mr. Brock, who had witnessed petitioners’ demeanor. As the director of JUH, Dr. Christian was certainly entitled to rely on reliable information obtained and furnished to her by her personnel director and *909the petitioners’ supervisor, both of whom Dr. Christian had known and trusted for many years.
Petitioners attempt to impeach Dr. Christian about matters that occurred solely at the final meeting between Mr. Hudson, Ms. Best, Mr. Brock, Ms. Schuchardt, and Ms. Blanks. The superior court and the majority opinion fail to address all of the other facts and inferences that Dr. Christian knew when she made her decision to request that petitioners submit to drug tests. Dr. Christian knew objective and articulable facts when she ordered drug tests and those facts justify her determination of reasonable cause, even if Mr. Brock’s statements about petitioners’ demeanor at that meeting are omitted. Dr. Christian had reasonable cause to order the tests immediately after Officer Pendelton searched Mr. Hudson.
Third, the superior court states that “Respondent’s request for drug testing relied on speculation that the straw contained contraband and that the Petitioners were responsible for the straw.” Dr. Christian knew that Ms. Blanks had observed a yellowish cut straw with a white powdery substance next to Mr. Hudson’s keys and cigarettes. Ms. Blanks was called out, Mr. Hudson walked in, removed his keys and cigarettes, and the cut straw disappeared. Mr. Hudson testified that the keys and cigarettes he retrieved from the chartroom belonged to him. Lieutenant Pendelton discovered a yellow cut straw in Mr. Hudson’s pocket that could have been either: (1) the straw section Ms. Blanks saw, (2) the remaining portion of the cut straw, or (3) a cut portion of a straw unrelated to the one that Ms. Blanks saw. Based on these objective and articulable facts, it was not an unreasonable inference, drawn by Dr. Christian, that the cut straw was “drug paraphernalia.” The discovery of a cut straw on Mr. Hudson’s person corroborated Ms. Blanks earlier visual observation. These facts, and the inferences drawn from them, along with all of the other circumstantial evidence known by Dr. Christian, would compel a reasonable person to conclude that Mr. Hudson and Ms. Best used or possessed illegal drugs at work.
The majority opinion discusses at length Ms. Blanks “knowledge of drug paraphernalia.” Ms. Blanks subjective understanding of drug paraphernalia or drugs is entirely irrelevant. Ms. Blanks’ suspicions or hunches are also immaterial. The controlling questions are what facts did Dr. Christian know, when did she learn them, and whether a reasonable person with knowledge of those facts could reasonably believe that petitioners were using or possessing drugs.
*910V. Reasonable Cause
Reasonable cause, like probable cause, is an objective, not a subjective, standard. “ ‘[T]he scope of the Fourth Amendment is not determined by the subjective conclusion of the law enforcement officer.’ ” State v. Peck, 305 N.C. 734, 741, 291 S.E.2d 637, 641 (1982) (quoting United States v. Clark, 559 F.2d 420 (5th Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 969, 54 L. Ed. 2d 457 (1977), quoting United States v. Resnick, 455 F.2d 1127 (5th Cir. 1972)).
The officer’s subjective opinion is not material. Nor are the courts bound by an officer’s mistaken legal conclusion as to the existence or non-existence of probable cause or reasonable grounds for his actions. The search or seizure is valid when the objective facts known to the officer meet the standard required.
Peck, 305 N.C. at 741-42, 291 S.E.2d at 641-42 (citing Scott v. United States, 436 U.S. 128, 56 L. Ed. 2d 168, reh’g denied, 438 U.S. 908, 57 L. Ed. 2d 1150 (1978) (other citations omitted) (emphasis in original)).
Reasonable suspicion depends upon the content of information and the degree of its reliability. Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325, 110 L. Ed. 2d 301 (1990). “Direct observation or physical evidence of on-duty impairment, while important, is not the only information which will support such testing. Rather, information which would lead a reasonable person to suspect. . . employees ... of on-the-job drag use, possession or impairment is sufficient under the Fourth Amendment.” Benavidez v. City of Albuquerque, 101 F.3d 620, 624 (10th Cir. 1996) (citing National Treasury Employees Union v. Yeutter, 918 F.2d 968, 974 (D.C. Cir. 1990) (“Constitution requires reasonable suspicion of on-duty drug use or drug-impaired work performance”) (emphasis in original); Jackson v. Gates, 975 F.2d 648, 653 (9th Cir. 1992), cert. denied, 509 U.S. 905, 125 L. Ed. 2d 690 (1993); Ford v. Dowd, 931 F.2d 1286, 1292-93 (1991)). Directive 47 does not require evidence of impairment to sustain reasonable cause to order drug tests.
The determination of reasonable suspicion, like that of probable cause, necessarily turns upon the information the person making the determination had when that person acted. The facts then before that person either were or were not sufficient to create a reasonable suspicion that a particular individual used drugs.
*911Garrison v. Department of Justice, 72 F.3d 1566, 1569 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (emphasis supplied). “What is reasonable, however, depends upon all the facts and circumstances of the particular situation.” Id.
‘Reasonable suspicion is a less demanding standard than probable cause not only in the sense that reasonable suspicion can be established with information that is different in quantity or content than that required to establish probable cause, but also in the sense that reasonable suspicion can arise from information that is less reliable than that required to show probable cause.’
Id. (quoting White, 496 U.S. at 330, 110 L. Ed. 2d at 309 (1990)). “That level of suspicion is considerably less than proof of wrongdoing by a preponderance of the evidence.” White, 496 U.S. at 330, 110 L. Ed. 2d at 308.
VI. Summary
Dr. Christian did not know petitioners personally, but knew their positions in the hospital. The facts that Dr. Christian knew prior to ordering the drug tests were that: (1) Ms. Blanks had a reputation for honesty; (2) Ms. Blanks had come to work unannounced; (3) Ms. Blanks witnessed petitioners exit the chart room moments before she entered the room; (4) no other person entered or exited the room during the relevant and interim period; (5) Ms. Blanks saw a cut straw that contained white powder; (6) Ms. Blanks was suspiciously called out of the chart room immediately before Mr. Hudson quickly reentered; (7) Ms. Schuchardt thought the phone call was suspicious; (8) no person other than Mr. Hudson and Ms. Best and the person who called Ms. Blanks to the telephone was aware that Ms. Blanks was in that chart room; (8) Mr. Hudson mysteriously appeared in Ms. Schuchardt’s office and asked if Ms. Blanks had reported him for smoking; (9) Lieutenant Pendelton, an independent police officer, not a JUH employee, searched Mr. Hudson and found a yellow cut straw in his pocket, which he believed contained white powder. This discovery corroborated Ms. Blanks’ prior observations of the cut yellowish straw containing white powder; (10) Ms. Blanks testified that the straw Officer Pendelton found on Mr. Hudson looked like the one she saw in the chart room; (11) a cut straw three or four inches long is used to ingest white powdery drugs; (12) Mr. Hudson was linked very closely to the cut yellow straw that disappeared; and (13) no legitimate use for a short, cut straw segment existed at JUH.
*912Ms. Schuchardt and Mr. Brock observed petitioners’ demeanor and described that demeanor to Dr. Christian. Dr. Christian knew that Ms. Best and Mr. Hudson would not talk about the straw, either to deny or verify that they had seen one in the chart room. She knew that Ms. Best avoided eye contact after she was confronted with the facts. Dr. Christian knew from life experience that health care workers will vigorously deny false accusations regarding drug use on the job. Mr. Hudson offered no information or explanation to Lieutenant Pendelton about the cut straw discovered in his pocket. Dr. Christian knew that Ms. Schuchardt would speak openly about her opinions, and knew that Ms. Schuchardt did not protest petitioner’s innocence nor question whether “reasonable cause” existed. Dr. Christian reviewed all of the facts and circumstances with Mr. Brock and Ms. Schuchardt. All of this evidence led her to reasonably believe and objectively conclude that petitioners used or possessed drugs in the chart room prior to her decision to order drug tests.
VIL Conclusion
This is not a criminal case. We are not determining whether there is sufficient evidence to uphold a jury verdict convicting petitioners of drug use, only whether reasonable cause existed to require petitioners to submit to a drug test. Reasonable cause is a less demanding standard than probable cause.
Dr. Christian properly initiated an investigation which provided to her specific, objective, and articulable facts conducted over a four hour period. She drew inferences from those facts in light of her experience to conclude that reasonable cause existed to believe that petitioners used or possessed illegal drugs in the chart room.
Dr. Christian serves as director of a large hospital. She knew that Mr. Hudson’s and Ms. Best’s positions provide hands-on care for numerous sick and fragile patients. Illegal drug use jeopardizes the entire hospital, including the many employees who comprise an intricate web of patient support for the entire hospital community. Dr. Christian is ultimately responsible for the direction and operation of JUH. North Carolina has a compelling interest in a hospital environment free from illegal drugs. Dr. Christian has a duty to protect her patients and employees from the effects of illegal drugs.
In light of her duty, the State’s interest, and all of the facts and inferences drawn from those facts known to Dr. Christian at the time *913she ordered the drug tests, it would have been unreasonable for Dr. Christian not to have directed petitioners to submit to drug tests. Petitioners’ refusal to submit to properly required drug tests was insubordination that justified the termination of their State employment. I would reverse the superior court and affirm the order of the State Personnel Commission. I respectfully dissent.