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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
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Driver Blames Company for Drunkenness

MEDINA, Ohio (CN) - A trucking company forced a driver to report to work at 8 p.m. on a Sunday, even though he'd warned the dispatcher that he'd been drinking at a family picnic, and then fired him for being drunk on the job, the driver claims in Medina County Court.

Dale Costello says he wasn't scheduled to work on April 19, but was called in by YRC Worldwide. He allegedly asked the dispatcher for time to sober up, saying he was at a family picnic where he was "drinking beer and was not sober and was not in a position to come to work."

But he says the dispatcher insisted that he report to work within three hours. When Costello showed up, he says the dispatcher accused him of being drunk on the job and reported him to supervisors. He was immediately fired after failing one of the tests, he claims.

He says his firing was "the product of a malicious design, given the defendant refused to permit the plaintiff to remain home and come in later after sobering up, as he requested."

He demands back pay and punitive damages. His attorney is Michael Conway of Brunswick, Ohio.

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