Bellinger v. Weight Watchers Gourmet Food Co

In Bellinger v. Weight Watchers Gourmet Food Co., 142 Ohio App. 3d 708, 756 N.E.2d 1251, 1257 (Ohio Ct. App. 2001), an employer terminated an employee for failing a random drug test. The employee claimed that his employer breached a duty to perform the drug test in a competent manner because it failed to follow the company's drug and alcohol policy. Id. at 1256. The court, however, disagreed. It held that because the plaintiff was an at-will employee, his employer was entitled to discharge him whether or not he was subject to a drug test; therefore, the employer did not owe the employee a duty to perform the test in a competent manner. Id. at 1257. Bellinger involved a claim of wrongful discharge rather than negligent interference with future employment.