A New Orleans employee's fight against termination for alleged substance abuse has taken a significant turn. On July 9, 2024, the Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit, reviewed the case filed by Rodney Crayton against the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans (SWB), which stemmed from a decision made by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on September 13, 2024.
Rodney Crayton, who had been employed as a painter with SWB since March 21, 2016, was terminated on December 28, 2022, after testing positive for alcohol during work hours. The incident leading to his termination occurred on November 11, 2022. On that day, Alvin Flint, SWB’s Security Manager, received an anonymous text message from someone identifying themselves as Ms. Boyd. The message claimed that two SWB employees were drinking beer while on duty in vehicle no. 39 at Dumaine and Claiborne. Flint forwarded this information to Edgar Edwards, an SWB investigator who failed to locate the vehicle via GPS but later identified Crayton and Dasper Newell as its occupants.
Based on these suspicions, Crayton and Newell were ordered to undergo substance abuse testing. Crayton tested positive for alcohol with levels of .036% and .030%. Despite no immediate signs of impairment observed by his supervisor Kedrick Williams or any corroborative evidence from surveillance footage or further investigation into Ms. Boyd's claims, Crayton was terminated for violating SWB’s substance abuse policy.
Crayton appealed his termination to the CSC which ruled in his favor on September 13, 2024. The CSC found that SWB lacked reasonable suspicion to subject him to substance abuse testing and ordered his reinstatement with back pay and other benefits. However, upon appeal by SWB to the Court of Appeal Fourth Circuit, it was determined that while Crayton did violate the substance abuse policy by having a blood alcohol concentration above the allowed limit during work hours; termination was deemed too severe a punishment.
The court acknowledged that Crayton admitted to consuming alcohol the night before but denied drinking during work hours or being impaired at work. It also noted that there was no substantial investigation conducted prior to ordering the test and no direct evidence linking him to consuming alcohol while on duty as reported by Ms. Boyd.
Given these findings and considering Crayton’s six-year tenure without prior disciplinary issues related to substance abuse or unsatisfactory work performance, the court decided that an eighty-day suspension without pay was more appropriate than termination. This decision aligns with previous cases where less severe disciplinary actions were deemed suitable for first-time offenses involving alcohol use during duty hours.
Attorneys involved in this case include Jack Bohannon from Southeast Louisiana Legal Services representing Rodney Crayton and Darryl Harrison along with Chanelle L. Collins representing Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans. The case was presided over by Honorable Jay Ginsburg as Hearing Officer along with Judges Joy Cossich Lobrano, Paula A. Brown and Karen K. Herman under Case ID NO: 2023-CA-0728.