The worker just wanted to stay home – one phone call changed everything

A supervisor's phone order over a workplace drug test just cost a police lieutenant his legal shield against a personal lawsuit.

On June 2, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Lt. Darryl Watson of the New Orleans Police Department cannot claim qualified immunity – the protection that shields public officials from personal liability – on a claim that he ordered an unlawful seizure of one of his own employees.

The employee, Karl Von Derhaar, worked as a civilian in the NOPD's crime lab. He had requested leave without pay after, the court recounts, his concerns about certain NOPD practices went unanswered. Officers later showed up at his home for a wellness check. They said they were worried about his well-being and asked him to come to the Public Integrity Bureau for a drug test. They told him repeatedly that he was not under arrest.

Von Derhaar asked to stay home. The officers called Watson instead. According to the opinion, officers relayed that Von Derhaar wanted to go back inside his house since he was not under arrest. Watson, the court recounts, told the officers to inform Von Derhaar that he was being put back on the clock and ordered to come in to take the test.

Von Derhaar asked whether quitting on the spot would let him avoid going. Officers told him to go sign paperwork, then took him to the bureau. He resigned rather than be tested.

He sued under Section 1983, the...

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