Chain of custody
As an arbitrator in the case of Thelma v Garden Way, I would rule in favor of Thelma. This is because a chain of command was not presented as it was supposed to in the court. Garden Way failed to preserve the evidence from 3rd may till the time that the evidence would be presented in court. Thus Thelma had a stronger case against the company since the union that protected Thelma’s right presented evidence that the urine sample that the company had taken could not be traced back to Thelma (Kearney et al 2014).
Additional evidence from the company would have been offered so as to make their case strong. A recording of Thelma denying her accusation would have been provided. A written employment agreement that Thelma was on probation would have made their case strong. A testimony from Thelma’s friends who accompanied her to the party would also have helped in confirming that Thelma was actually at the party. A photograph of Thelma smoking marijuana would have proved that she was an addict and this would have enabled the company to win the case. However, the case had little evidence thus it was hard to really determine. However the arbitrator had to rule the case.
The dismissal was unreasonable since Thelma had used drugs on one occasion before she was employed by the company. Thus the company should have first considered hearing her appeal and justification at the moment and issue her with a warning. Later the company would have taken a drug test after the warning and if it tested positive at that time, then they would go on ahead with firing her. This would have been regarded as a reasonable dismissal.
References
Kearney. C. R & Mareschal M. P (2014). Labor Relations In The Public Sector Fifth Edition. CRC Press, Taylor & Fransis Group.
