Michael Hirsch, a 60-year-old prostate cancer survivor who has spent years working as a programmer and systems analyst with Lane County, Oregon, was fired in December after two human resource employees reported that they smelt cannabis on him, and he subsequently failed a drug test.
Now, Arbitrator Jeffrey Jacobs has ruled that the country must give Hirsch his job back. Not only that, they must pay Hirsch $21,550 in back pay for the nearly half a year of work he missed.