Gulf Coast Industrial Workers Union v. Exxon Company, U.S.A.

JERRE S. WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge:

Thomas Woods wants his job back. He lost it when he tested positive for cocaine, a clear violation of Exxon’s Alcohol and Drug Use Policy and its after-care program. The district court refused to enforce an arbitration award instructing the company to reinstate him. The court held that the arbitrator’s ruling was doubly defective because (1) it offended public policy by ordering the reinstatement of a proved drug abuser to his safety-sensitive position, and (2) the arbitrator exceeded his authority by relying upon Woods’s post-discharge conduct. We agree with…