News

April 10, 2008

PennDOT worker fired for DUI suing for job

WILKES-BARRE – A Newport Township supervisor terminated from his PennDOT job after he was arrested for drunken driving in a state vehicle is suing to get his job back.

Paul Czapracki of Glen Lyon claims he should be reinstated to his foreman position because he was unfairly terminated and denied due process. Other state Department of Transportation employees, the suit states, have been charged with the same offenses, or even worse, but were never reprimanded or punished.

The suit against the state agency, filed recently in Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas by attorney Joseph Lach, also seeks monetary fees.

Police said Czapracki, of East Main Street, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 percent when they found him sleeping in the driver’s seat of a Ford Explorer around 4:45 a.m. Feb. 18, 2007, in Mocanaqua. He later pleaded guilty to drunken driving and was sentenced in May to six months of probation. He was also ordered to surrender his driver’s license for one year.

According to the suit:

Czapracki was a highway foreman at the Luzerne County maintenance office at the time. Days before Feb. 17, 2007, the region was hit with a crippling snowstorm. That day, Czapracki had completed a 12-hour work shift and was not scheduled to work again until Feb. 20.

When he finished his Feb. 17 shift, Czapracki “consumed a few alcoholic beverages at his home.” But he was called and ordered back to work by midnight Feb. 18 because of the storm.

Around 4:45 a.m. Feb. 18, Czapracki parked his vehicle as workers cleared snow. He took a 15-minute break and fell asleep. Police awakened him.

The next day, Czapracki voluntarily contacted the State Employees Assistance Program to participate in the drug and alcohol program “in an effort to maintain his employment,” according to the lawsuit.He underwent evaluations, but was told he no longer had to participate. He was later suspended from his job then terminated from PennDOT, Lach said.

The suit says Czapracki was not afforded a hearing from PennDOT to adequately defend himself. Plus, the suit said, Czapracki has received “disparate treatment” compared to other PennDOT employees who had similar incidents.

Another PennDOT employee pleaded guilty to charges related to bank larceny and fraud, but was never reprimanded, suspended or terminated, the suit states. Other employees were charged with drunken driving while in a state vehicle and/or on state time, but had no action taken against them, either, the suit says.

The termination has caused Czapracki to sustain monetary and other losses.

PennDOT spokeswoman Karen Dussinger said officials were reserving comment because they had not yet received the suit.

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