Employers Must Prove Need Before Testing Workers for Drugs, Federal Court Rules March 17, 2008
News Summary
The desire to maintain a "drug-free workplace" is not sufficient justification for requiring all employees to be tested for illicit drugs, the Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported March 14 that the court ruled 3-0 in favor of a woman who applied for a job as a librarian with the city of Woodburn, Ore., but had her job offer withdrawn when she refused to be tested for alcohol and other drugs. A federal judge ruled the city's decision unconstitutional; the appeals court said that the city does have the right to drug-test some types of applicants, but that there was no basis for such testing of librarians.
The appeals court noted that federal courts have allowed testing for safety-sensitive positions, but said the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against sweeping drug-testing policies in 1977, saying that symbolic justifications for testing were not enough to overcome the U.S. Constitution's requirement that searches be based on evidence of wrongdoing.
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