Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Random Drug Testing Policy

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Conservative leaders, like FL Gov. Rick Scott, have sought to expand random drug testing to welfare recipients and, in some cases, government employees.

Now such expansions have been ruled as unconstitutional by a federal appeals court:

A federal appeals court on Friday declared a random drug testing program for government workers at 28 U.S. Forest Service Job Corps centers unconstitutional.

The centers are home for at-risk youths from ages 16 to 24 from troubled environments. Residents are housed in remote rural locations and trained in various vocations.

In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the small number of drug use incidents among a workforce of several thousand over many years does not establish a serious problem, much less an immediate crisis necessitating expansion of a random drug testing policy.

This is a major blow to conservatives who have attempted to expand the role of government to intrude on the lives of people who receive federal funds. This ruling says that the government can’t expand its role, i.e. drug testing, without first establishing a need.