Dismissal of a driver under the influence of drugs is illegal, unless psycho-physical alteration can be demonstrated (Il Quotidiano del Lavoro, 5 July 2017 – Alberto De Luca, Claudia Cerbone)

The Court of Milan with judgement dated June 13, 2017 ruled that dismissal of a bus driver who makes use of narcotics is unlawful unless the alteration of the psycho-physical status of the employee is ascertained and demonstrated in the performance of his/her duties. The legal issue is resolved by the Court of Milan by applying an analogy to the regulation established in Art. 45 attachment A) of the R.D. No. 148/1931, in the sense that, for the dismissal to be lawful, it is not sufficient to identify the mere presence of alcoholic or psychotropic substances, even above the allowed limit, if the use [of such substances] is sporadic or occasional, and however not occurring at the time of performance of the duty, but it must result in an actual psycho-physical alteration of the worker’s abilities  at the time of the performance of the work, an alteration that, if not ascertained at a disciplinary stage, precludes the possibility of arguing it before the courts when assessing the lawfulness of the dismissal.

Read here the original version of this article published on Il Quotidiano del Lavoro.