TRUCKER SUES EMPLOYER AFTER DRUG TEST COSTS HIM HIS CAREER.(BUSINESS)(Correction notice)

Byline: JAMES DENN Business writer

Cohoes Roger A. Gamache was earning a decent wage as a truck driver for Overnite Transportation Co. in Colonie until his employer asked him to urinate in a cup as part of its random employee drug test program. Overnite fired Gamache when the urine tested positive for marijuana.

Gamache, 43, of Cohoes, claimed that the test must be wrong, saying he doesn't smoke pot. Nonetheless, Overnite fired him several days after the results were submitted.

Although Gamache no longer works for Overnite, he couldn't let the case of the tainted urine rest. Upset by what he claims is a mix-up of urine samples, Gamache filed a $2 million lawsuit against the drug company that tested the urine, claiming that the alleged mix-up cost him a job, a career and his reputation.

Taking a close look at what happened to Gamache provides insight into workers' rights in the 1990s. Because of the way employment law has evolved in recent years, legal experts say workers accused of drug use by a private employer have little chance of getting their jobs back even if the drug test was inaccurate, and the burden of proving the drug-test wrong falls on the accused.

Drug testing has been around for years. It is common in industries …