JOSEPH KINNEARY'S inability to urinate in close proximity to other people almost cost him his job. Even now, he is fighting sanctions that have relegated him to desk work from his old perch as a boat captain for New York City.

It might sound like the stuff of late-night comedy, but the anxiety disorder that plagues Mr. Kinneary is a harsh reality for a surprisingly large number of men. For some of them, it can be a career killer because it deprives them of the ability to produce urine for random drug tests.

Now, though, those who suffer from the syndrome, technically called paruresis but more commonly referred to as shy bladder syndrome, are beginning to fight back. They argue that penalties exacted against them by their employers, from demotions to dismissals, violate antidiscrimination laws. They are demanding the right to request alternate forms of drug testing. And a few are risking ridicule by going public.

Mr. Kinneary, 48, is one of them. As a sludge tanker captain for the New York City Environmental Protection Department, he would often put in 12-hour days piloting a 320-foot-long vessel through the waters surrounding the city. Then, in late December, he was ordered to produce urine for an on-the-job drug test, a routine procedure required by virtually all public employers and many private ones.