Man Claims He Was Fired for Inability to 'Urinate on Demand'

A Connecticut man who lost his job over refusing to take a drug test says he has a disability making him unable to "urinate on demand."

As a result, the former public works highway employee,Rift Gold Daniel Pond, is suing the town of New Haven for firing him. He says he requested a blood test instead, but was denied.

The town had required Pond to provide a urine sample for drug screening before he returned to the job in 2008 after a worker's compensation leave, according to court papers obtained by the New Haven Register.

He told officials of his "medical disability" and asked to give blood instead, but wasn't allowed, the lawsuit contends.RIFT Platinum Pond claims that even after drinking "very large quantities of fluids," he couldn't urinate into the container as asked. He was sent to a mandatory drug treatment program.

"The plaintiff suffers, and at all relevant times suffered, from documented medical disabilities, of which the defendant was fully aware, which make it virtually impossible for him to urinate on demand and severely limit his ability to urinate under any circumstances," the suit claims.

The situation repeated itself a year later, rift goldin 2009, with the same outcome: Pond cited his medical condition and was met with a refusal to screen him using blood rather than urine, his suit alleges.

Pond, who had been employed by the town's public works department since 2002, says he left the waiting room to call his wife and inform her of the situation. When he returned, he was told he'd failed the test in compliance with rules about leaving before completing a drug screening.

A hearing determined that he was in violation of the town's drug policy and he lost his job days later.

Pond filed his grievance this month in New Haven Superior Court and is asking for at least $15,000 in damages.RIFT Platinum He already has another case in the works related to his firing, which the state Department of Labor has ruled on in his favor but which has been twice appealed by the town.

Pond's complaint says he never had problems with alcohol or drugs, and the first signs of his medical condition emerged during the 2008 test.

Michael Rose, an attorney for New Haven, said officials were basing their actions on drug-testing guidelines set forth by the state Department of Transportation. The town "is confident that it will be vindicated in the case," he told the Register.TERA Gold "The inability to urinate is not recognized as a disability."

Pond argues he passed nine drug tests between June 2008 and March 2009 and accuses New Haven of discriminating against him.

"The defendant terminated the plaintiff's employment because of his alleged 'failures' of drug tests which in fact were solely because of his disability and the defendant's refusal to accommodate same," the lawsuit says