1736 Anderson v. UAW-Ag Imp Dept.

Anderson has not presented any evidence of racial motivations in the handling of his grievance. The sole question raised by this appeal, therefore, is whether the screening committee’s conclusion that it could not obtain any relief for Anderson through arbitration had a rational basis. We believe that it did. Anderson misled the company about his pre-existing injury during his initial interview. The significant circumstance discovered as a result of Anderson’s visit to the medical department on March 20, 2013, was that he had been taking a powerful narcotic to treat the pain arising from a serious pre-existing injury during the entire period of his employment at John Deere. The company had a legitimate concern that Anderson’s medications could make it unsafe for him to be working in an industrial setting and that he might further aggravate his disability and lead to further claims. It is unlikely that an arbitrator would order the company to put Anderson back to work in the plant given these circumstances.