Pre-employment testing, disparate treatment, civil rights, attorney practices.

Alfred Stone, appeals a lower court's ruling on his discrimination suit against Reliable Mechanic. Stone, an African-American, claims Reliable Mechanic violated his civil rights when it required him to show proof of a negative result to a pre-employment drug screening. Stone contends a white employee hired the same day he applied for employment was not required to prove he tested drug-free.

The U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana ruled the company had demonstrated that it required every worker to show proof of a negative drug screen. Therefore, Stone had no basis for a discrimination suit.

Stone loses: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that requiring a drug test for Stone was not used as a pretext to bar his employment. Furthermore, all workers at the company were required to pass a drug screen before coming on a job site. Therefore, no discrimination occurred.