My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Arkansas
I am very sorry about how long, I just dont want to leave anything out.
About a week and a half ago I slipped and fell at work, it was a Saturday during the lunch rush. I needed something for a customer and asked one of the many managers on duty for help. She told me she was too busy to help me and I would have to go in back and get it myself. I knew I was getting backed up and had been being yelled at for the times of getting the customers out, so I knew I couldn't go in back and try to find what I needed. So I went rushing out to the lobby where I knew I could get what I needed for the customer, next thing I knew I was on the floor on top of my leg. I looked around to try to see why I would have fallen and to my left there was a wet floor sign (not where it is suppose to be to warn customers walking from the counter to the drink area). Three customers in the lobby came over to help me up and I limped my way back to the office to tell my manager of what had happened. When I got back to the office I tried telling my manager what had happened and he gave me a dirty look and stated he was on the phone. I was in too much pain to just stand there and there was another manager standing there, I told him what happened handed him my headset and started to leave (never once was I stopped or did anyone seem to care) I clocked out and went home. I live 2 mins from work but took me a lot longer to get home due to the pain in my leg. When I got home there was a message on my answering machine from my manager stating that I needed to come back up there immediately otherwise he would be in a lot of trouble and so could I be. I was driven back up to the store where I was told to come back to the office, I told him walking was hard to do and needed to stay in the front so I didn't have to walk. He told me I had to come back in the office it could not be done out in the open. When we got back there I was yelled at and he started to fill out the accident report. He then called the "company nurse" and they told me I had to go to the hospital, but a manager had to go with me to ensure a drug test was done.
At the hospital I was sent for x-rays and all the other stuff, but they didn't do the drug test, they said it wouldn't be legal because it was on the weekend and their lab that contracts with employers was not open. While I was away getting the x-rays the manager that was with me talked to the Asst. manager that sent me to the hospital about the drug test and the fact that he was told due to me not having "proper shoes" on that workmans comp would not pay for the medical bills. When I got back from the x-rays the manager informed me of this. I was very mad, but I have never done any of this before so I had no idea if it could be true or not. The ER doctor said I sprained my knee and my back, gave me an immobilizer and crutches with a scipt for Percocet and said I needed to be off work for a week and see an ortho doc to get a release back to work. As we were leaving the manager told me since workmans comp wasn't going to pay for any of it I was not going to have to do a drug test anymore. The doctor gave him my note and we left.
Two days later on Monday, the asst. manager of the store started calling my home very early in the morning. The first call my husband wasn't able to answer and I was sleeping because of the pain meds I was given. The second call my husband answered and the manager said to him that I needed to get to the store immediately because they didn't have all of the paperwork from the hospital ( my discharge papers) my husband told him I was sleeping and had been out of it because of the pain meds, that he would try to wake me up soon and bring me up there. The manager said no she needs to be here now. 5 minutes later he called again and this time I was awake and answered it, he said to me that I needed to get up there now and bring those papers. I told him I had just gotten up and would be there as soon as I could.
When I got there he took me back to the office and asked for the papers, then told me he somehow forgot to have me sign the accident report and that I needed to sign it and use the date of the accident and the time it happened. He then told me he had gotten in trouble because he didn't call the district manager right away after the accident happened. He then said if I wanted to keep my job that I needed to go with another manager to the occupational center to get a drug test done. Of course I wanted to keep my job, so I went with the manager to the occupational doctors. When we got there they said the office didn't agree with the ER and was instructed to see me and do the drug test. The occupational doctor did everything the ER did and said I don't need the immobilizer and crutches and said I could go back to work on a "no weight baring" restriction.
On the way back to my house the manager called the asst. manager and made sure it was "ok" to take me back home. He said I was do to work that day and needed me there. I said I did not have the "proper" shoes yet and was still in alot of pain not to mention very much under the influence of the pain meds. He was not happy but said whatever, but I better be there on my next day to work.
Before I was able to go back to work I got a call from the doctor asking me if there was any other medicines I was taking. I told him of the other pain meds I have taken due to my carpal tunnel. He said medicines don't show on drug tests anymore and reported to my employer that I failed the drug test. I don't do drugs!!!! I then got a phone call from my employer stating I failed the test and I was fired. I tried arguing it with the manager but he wouldn't listen. Now I am told that because this test came back positive(wrongly) that there is no hope of fighting for workman's comp to pay for the bills.
My questions are this.... Is there anything I can do legally do to the fact that an independent doctor put me off of work for a week but "their" doctor over turned that? The fact that now that I am not so drugged up on pain meds and think back that I would have not signed any papers while under the influence of the pain meds ( I have no idea what the accident report says) and fight the drug test results knowing that I have not smoked any weed for it to come back positive, and wasn't it then not usable because it was 2 days after the fact, wasn't it then a violation of my privacy? In the handbook it states that a positive drug test will be handled with discipline and could lead to termination. I was told it was mandatory. And if it is mandatory then why is there people that are known by management to come to work high and are allowed to work and still have their jobs?
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