Unemployment benefits, reasonable suspicion, marijuana, policy and procedure, evidence.

Avalee and Donna Smith, two former employees of the Fruit of the Loom Company, appeal a lower court's ruling that upholds their disqualification from receiving unemployment insurance benefits. The two employees were involved in an altercation with other company employees on company grounds. In accordance with the company's established policy, the workers involved in the incident were required to submit to a drug test. The company required all test subjects to identify on a form all legal and illegal drugs they had used prior to taking the test. The Smiths tested positive for marijuana. The two did not list the drug on the form they completed prior to submitting to the drug screen. They later told company officials they used marijuana at an off-duty gathering days before the altercation. Company officials dismissed the Smiths for misconduct. The two former employees applied for unemployment benefits, but a state review board concluded that they were disqualified from receiving benefits due to their misconduct. The Smiths filed an appeal of the review board's decision.

A Russell County Circuit Court affirmed the ruling of the state's unemployment insurance review board. The Smiths argued they were not completely aware of the company's policy concerning drugs in the workplace. Therefore, they argued, they could not be held accountable to a policy they did not understand. However, the court noted the two employees signed pledge cards indicating their understanding of the company's drug policy. The Smiths now appeal.

The Smiths lose. The Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed the rulings of the lower jurisdictions. The court emphasized the Smiths' signed statements concerning their comprehension of the company's testing policy.