BELLEVILLE — A school bus driver is suing a drug testing facility and her employer for allegedly botching her drug test and preventing her from working.
Sandrea White filed a complaint on Nov. 15 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Midwest Occupational Medicine Ltd. and Illinois Central School Bus LLC, alleging she was kept off her job for several months due to Midwest's failure to follow proper drug testing guidelines.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that she submitted a urine sample to Midwest for drug testing, which was required by her employer. She claims Midwest did not properly administer the test, did not document issues in the sample's handling, did not inform White that exiting the facility would result in a claim that she had refused testing, did not inform White of errors in protocol, did not allow White to submit another sample after expressing concerns about the first test and made other errors.
She also alleges that Illinois Central School Bus suspended her based on an oral report from Midwest that White's test was invalid, failed to put forth a reasonable effort to determine the validity of the drug test claim and reported White to the state based solely on the oral report.
The plaintiff blames the defendants for loss of wages, loss of employment opportunities, revocation of her firearms permit and emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against each defendant in excess of $50,000, plus costs of suit.
She is represented by Thomas C. Rich, Kristina D. Cooksey and Michelle M. Rich of Rich, Rich & Cooksey PC in Fairview Heights.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 16-L-606