Discharge of guard is upheld

CARSON CITY -- The firing of a prison correctional officer who refused in summer 2007 to take a drug test after fellow officers found cocaine in an employee restroom has been upheld by a state hearing officer.

Cynthia Smith was fired in November by the warden at High Desert State Prison after an investigation into the Aug. 2 incident.

On that morning, officers at the prison found a bag containing a white substance in the restroom. The Las Vegas police laboratory later determined the substance was cocaine.

Smith on that day was observed by other officers "frantically" searching for something in the restroom and other areas of the prison.

She said she was looking for her sunglasses. But when officers asked her to take a drug test, Smith refused and contended she was being "set up" by officers with whom she did not have good relationships.

A prison lieutenant told her that she could be terminated under prison rules if she did not take the drug test.

Smith had a good working record in an 11-year career with the prisons system. She appealed her firing.

State Hearing Officer Daniel Hussey conducted a hearing, reviewed the evidence and concluded that the firing was justified in a decision dated Jan. 30. State employees under civil service rules are entitled to challenge dismissals.

Smith's refusal to take a drug test led the department to believe she was responsible for the cocaine found in the restroom, according to Hussey.