An bus system administrator who was fired after he was accused of doing illegal drugs and whose drug test results were leaked to the public — igniting a controversy that caused the ouster of the agency’s top executive — has been cleared of the accusations, the Capital Area Transit System said in a statement.
The bus system for Baker and Baton Rouge agreed last month to settle a federal lawsuit with its former comptroller, John Cutrone.
“CATS does not believe Mr. Cutrone is a user of illicit or illegal drugs,” the statement says. “CATS understands Mr. Cutrone was lawfully prescribed a common medication for the treatment of Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder.”
The statement says Cutrone “was not terminated on account of the drug test,” but because “CATS made the decision to go in a different direction.”
The lawsuit, filed in December, accused the bus agency of defaming Cutrone’s character and invading his privacy by allowing the drug test results to leak to TV station WBRZ in March 2022 and contributing to false claims that he had illicitly used methamphetamine and amphetamine.
Cutrone, through Baton Rouge employment attorney Jill Craft, has maintained since the leak that the drug test results were a result of prescribed medications that create false positives for amphetamines.
The leak ignited accusations from the system’s union, which had been sharply at odds with CATS leadership, that agency heads were selectively enforcing its “zero tolerance” drug policy.
CATS spokeswoman Deanna Wallace declined to comment further on the terms of the settlement. It’s not clear yet what it will cost, but the settlement was covered by an employment practices insurance policy held by CATS, not taxpayer dollars, Wallace said.
The system’s former CEO, Bill Deville, was stripped of his title and duties amid the controversy, although he was allowed to remain employed at the agency until June without any duties under a $190,000 annual contract.
When the board moved in June to give new CEO Dwana Williams a pay raise to reflect her new role without having first addressed Deville’s contract, Metro Council members began to call for mass resignations from the board and launched an investigation.
Cutrone was fired in September without a reason being given.
Both Craft and CATS have said the drug test should have been administered to Cutrone.
The Fourth Amendment provides that no person may be subject to an unreasonable search or seizure by the government. The Supreme Court has ruled that drug tests are considered a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, and any public employer’s drug testing policy must satisfy the amendment’s reasonableness standard.
CATS policy allows for employees in “safety sensitive” positions, like a bus driver, or those suspected of abusing drugs or alcohol on the job to be tested.
CATS also fired the human resources official who administered the drug test.
The settlement between CATS and Cutrone closes a turbulent period for the agency that has seen the departure of multiple top executives and several members of CATS’ Board of Commissioners, including the board president. The Metro Council’s investigative committee is coming to a close and hasn’t met since the beginning of the year.
This is a developing story.
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