Trucking Company Ordered to Reinstate Drunk Driver After Failing to Find ‘Reasonable Accommodation’ for Her Alcoholism

A Canadian trucking company has been ordered to reinstate a driver who was fired after she drank at least nine beers before she crashed on a Pennsylvania highway.

An arbitrator ruled that Groupe Robert failed to provide reasonable accommodation to Yolaine Nadeau for her alcoholism.

Nadeau was driving a route from Quebec to Pennsylvania on June 30, 2022 when she stopped in Watertown, New York, to buy a six-pack of beer that she consumed on-site, according to the ruling. She took the wheel again but stopped once more to buy another six-pack.  She drank three beers but said she didn't remember if she consumed the others in the truck.

Late in the evening in Pennslyvania, her truck swerved and left the highway before coming to a stop in a field.  The truck was damaged and had to be towed but Nadeau was not injured.

Police arrested her with a blood alcohol level of .18, more than twice the legal limit. Nadeau informed her employer of the crash and told them she was an alcoholic.

She says she realized she had a drinking problem after the crash and went into treatment. Groupe Robert then fired her after she completed rehab.

Nadeau acknowledged that she was aware of the zero-tolerance policy for alcohol in her collective bargaining agreement but said that even if she knew it, she had no control over her consumption because her judgment was affected.

In the arbitration process, Nadeau says she started drinking more after undergoing bariatric surgery in 2018.

Her union backed her reinstatement, saying that alcoholism is a disability and the employer had an obligation to accommodate under Canada'shuman rights laws.

The arbitrator ruled her firing was unjust and ordered her reinstatement.  The ruling also ordered Groupe Robert to provide a “reasonable accommodation" in order to “take into account her disability.”

The company has the option to appeal the decision.