Pingatore v. Union Pacific Railroad

'hThis summary-judgment case involves an employee’s privacy rights in the employment drug-testing context. Larry Pin-gatore has been employed by Union Pacific Railroad (UP) since at least 2002. He worked as a signalman in California for UP. He took a two-month leave of absence in 2002 and a six-month leave in 2005. In 2005 Pingatore went through inpatient substance-abuse treatment for alcoholism. After that' absence, the company began drug testing him more frequently.

A third leave of absence was taken in 2007, for four months, when Pingatore on his own initiative participated in an…