Florida Judge Rules Gov. Scott’s Random Drug Testing of State Employees Unconstitutional
Monday, April 30, 2012
Gov. Rick Scott
Florida Governor Rick Scott’s mandatory drug-testing program for state workers, created by executive order, has been thrown out by a federal judge.
District Judge Ursula Ungaro found no compelling justification for the plan, which amounted to an unreasonable search and seizure, she ruled.
Scott failed to “identify a concrete danger that must be addressed by suspicionless drug-testing,” Ungaro wrote, adding there was “no evidence of a drug-use problem at the covered agencies.”
Drug testing began in March 2011 for about 80,000 state employees who work for agencies that report to him. The program halted three months later when a lawsuit was filed challenging the legality of the requirement.
The governor disagreed with the ruling and plans to appeal.
While the program awaited a ruling in court, the legislature adopted legislation this year allowing agencies to drug test all state employees…except elected officials.
The new law goes into effect in July, but it does not include funding for the drug testing, meaning that any agency that wants to pursue the testing will have to cut its budget somewhere else. Civil libertarians plan to challenge this law in court as well.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
To Learn More:
State Worker Drug Tests Struck Down in Florida (by Lizette Alvarez, New York Times)
American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 79 v. Rick Scott (U.S. District Court, Southern Florida) (pdf)
Florida Becomes First State to Drug Test Public Employees…Except Elected Officials (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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