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Scott Takes Worker Drug Testing To Supreme Court
January 15, 2014
Arguing that Florida has an “overriding interest in a drug-free workforce,” Gov. Rick Scott has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of a drug-testing policy for tens of thousands of state employees.
Lawyers for Scott filed a petition Monday asking the Supreme Court to hear the case, after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year ruled against across-the-board drug testing.
In the petition, the Scott administration pointed to the use of drug testing by private employers and said illegal drug use “increases financial costs, creates safety hazards, and impairs productivity.”
“The constitutionality of Florida’s drug testing policy is not only unsettled —it is an important issue the court should decide now,” said the petition seeking Supreme Court review. “The Eleventh Circuit has intruded upon Florida’s sovereign right to ensure the general welfare of its citizens and regulate its workforce.”
But the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which challenged the constitutionality of the policy, blasted the Scott administration for continuing to pursue the drug tests. They pointed to repeated past rulings against such drug testing.
“We are prepared to demonstrate to the U.S. Supreme Court, as it has found before, that the state has no authority to require people to submit their bodily fluids for government inspection and approval without reason or suspicion.” ACLU of Florida attorney Shalini Goel Agarwal said in a prepared statement Tuesday.
Since taking office in 2011, Scott has made a high-profile issue of requiring drug tests for state employees and welfare recipients. But federal courts have ruled against him on both issues, as opponents have argued that government drug tests violate the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.
A federal district judge in 2012 ruled that the state-worker drug testing was unconstitutional and blocked the Scott administration from carrying out the policy. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last year was more nuanced, saying that drug tests could be justified for some employees whose duties raise safety concerns.
But the appeals court also indicated that drug tests could not be justified constitutionally for many of the 85,000 workers who could be subject to Scott’s policy. The appeals court sent the case back to a lower court, with directions to sort through job categories to determine which workers could be tested.
In recent months, the state and opponents “have been engaged in the arduous process of dividing state employees into job categories so that they can later, absent this court’s intervention, litigate over each job category,” the administration said in the petition to the Supreme Court.
It remains unclear whether justices will even decide to hear the case. But in the petition, Scott’s lawyers argued that Florida’s “important interests outweigh public employees’ limited expectation of privacy in this setting.”
“Requiring government employees and job applicants to consent to drug testing is not an unconstitutional condition because there is a rational connection between the requirement and the important state interest in a drug-free workplace,” the petition said.
But Jeanette Wynn, president of AFSCME Council 79, which represents state workers, said Scott “appears to want to continue the attack on hard working men and women of this state.”
“Once again, Governor Scott is wasting taxpayer dollars on an issue that has already been decided and goes against common sense,” she said in a prepared statement.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Comments
12 Responses to “Scott Takes Worker Drug Testing To Supreme Court”
Alot of people dont think about this. There are some people out there who are clean of drugs and never used them. But they have a psychological road block which makes them pee shy. This holds alot of jobs back from people who really need them. They are so adamant on urine test for some reason or another. But drawing blood works just as well. Food for thought.
M in Bratt
It just seems like the unions would want to rid themselves of the bad apples……..
The UNIONS ARE THE BAD APPLES.
Jack
The key is choice….
That is what escapes these anti-drug testers.
I am sure that if Gov. Scott is pushing real hard for this, he’s going to profit from it. I just wish he would have been this determined to build the monorail system we all voted for when he was in diapers.
Random County and or State drug tests are worthless, had a relative that drove a school bus for 20+ years, shopped doctors like crazy, was receiving hundreds of pills a month from 6 different doc’s. Being a high ranking Union member she got a 2 week notice of her upcoming ‘random’ test and made sure she passed.
Whats the point.
Why can the military drug test those on active duty, protecting Americans from all enemies, foreign and domestic, yet not extend these requirements to those benefitting from these protections.
Let scott and all the politicians be the first in line to pee in the bottle(watch out for the adulterants!) and fact is there would be a butt load of state employees popping positive, beating up on the welfare recipients is just another example of the government having their boot heels on the necks of those that are already down…
Until they have no choice, there is no constitutional issue. If they don’t want to be tested, don’t ask for welfare or apply for a state job. I am not equating the two, just addressing the issue. My employer has several “conditions of employment” that I can agree to abide with (including what I wear at work) or I can go find a different job. The key is choice.
The ACLU findings don’t address the deterent factor which compares to why we sit at a red light when there is no traffic. (Answer: we don’t want to face the consequences of breaking the law.)
Worked many years in county employment and never once thought about drug testing. Figured it was part of the job and was protecting me against those who may be impaired due to drug use. Yes, there were a few people who did not pass the drug test and after extensive and costly “rehab and counseling” were released when they continued using illegal drugs. Seemed right.
If you aren’t using drugs then why fear the testing?
Facts speak louder than Ricky’s words. He is a lying, opportunistic sleazeball.
Tell us how this isn’t a conflict of interest, and how even the Governor and State Legislators will be required to submit to testing. I don’t believe it, for a minute, for a second, not at all.
“Scott’s policy initiatives – this time, requiring drug testing of state employees and welfare recipients – are designed to benefit Scott’s bottom line.
The Palm Beach Post reported in an exclusive story two weeks ago that while Scott divested his interest in Solantic in January, the controlling shares went to a trust in his wife’s name.”
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/gov-rick-scotts-drug-testing-policy-stirs-suspicio/nLq8f/
Let’s not forget how many welfare recipients were “bilking” the system before the courts (rightfully) decided that maybe the 4th Amendment DOES still mean something.
“Required drug tests for people seeking welfare benefits ended up costing taxpayers more than it saved and failed to curb the number of prospective applicants, data used against the state in an ongoing legal battle shows.
The findings — that only 108 of the 4,086 people who took a drug test failed — are additional ammunition for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which sued the state and won a temporary ban on the drug-testing program in October, said ACLU spokesman Derek Newton.”
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/florida-didnt-save-money-by-drug-testing-welfare-recipients-data-shows/1225721
Saving the taxpayer’s money? Looking out for the best interests of citizens by forcing unconstitutional search/seizures? NOPE.
It just seems like the unions would want to rid themselves of the bad apples, but no, they want to cover for them, and keep them on the payroll in spite of the bad things they do. Good for you Rick, you are representing the interests of the taxpayers rather than the big unions
If I have to take a drug test to work, they should have to take one to touch my tax money. Period!
If I gotta take a drug test to support people on welfare, they should as well. If they don’t have to test to receive benefits I shouldn’t have to test to provide those benefits.
Ideally, neither of us should be required to test because drug testing is inherently an illegal search (and seizure) and thus should be against our 4th amendment rights… But, obviously, that constitution doesn’t mean anything anyway, so whatever. May the highest paying lobbyist win!