Workers' compensation, conclusive presumption, drug test, marijuana, drug and alcohol policy, reasonable suspicion, due process, drug-free workplace, JCC

Astley Hall, a former employee of Recchi America, Inc., appeals a judge of compensation claims ruling that denied him workers' compensation benefits for failing a drug test. Hall tested positive for marijuana after suffering an accident on the premises of Recchi's drug-free workplace.

The judge of compensation claims (JCC) had ruled against Hall, basing his ruling on the conclusive presumption of Florida Statute 440.09(3), which states that an injury in a drug-free workplace to an employee who fails a drug test shall be presumed to have been caused by the employee's intoxication.

Hall wins. The First District Court of Appeals reversed JCC ruling, noting that the Florida Statute's conclusive presumption violates the constitutional right to due process. The appeals court further notes that the JCC, in its original ruling, did not find that Hall's marijuana ingestion [primarily] caused the injury.