Bibolet v. Employment Dept.

OAR 471-030-0125(5)(c) provides that a "blanket test" is one applied “uniformly to a specified group or class of employees.”

Claimant sought review of an Employment Appeals Board, (EAB), decision affirming a denial by the Employment Division of a request for unemployment benefits. Claimant proffered three assignments of error, two of which the Court of Appeals determined to be unpreserved. Accordingly, Claimant's only assignment of error addressed by the Court was that the EAB erred in concluding that the employer-mandated drug test, administered after Defendant's accident, constituted a “blanket test” under OAR 471-030-0125(3)(d)(B). Claimant argued that term “blanket test” under OAR 471-030-0125(3)(d)(B), "[didn't] apply to drug tests…conducted without regard to evidence of drug use or impairment." In response, the EAB argued that the drug test qualified as a “blanket test,” because it  was administered to "every employee…involved in a work-related motor vehicle accident." OAR 471-030-0125(5)(c) provides that a "blanket test" is one applied “uniformly to a specified group or class of employees.” The Court of Appeals determined that the policy was a “blanket test” because it applied to all employees involved in a motor vehicle accident, regardless of fault. Accordingly, the Court held that the EAB did not err in denying Claimant's request for unemployment benefits. Affirmed.