NCJ Number
121432
Journal
ABA Journal Dated: (June 1989) Pages: 44,46,48,50
Date Published
1989
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Employee drug testing cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1989 signalled another step in the Court's continued erosion of fourth amendment protections.
Abstract
The recent erosion of fourth amendment protections began in 1984 with the "good faith" exception to the exclusionary rule and continued with such decisions as the individualized suspicion search of students and public employees' work areas in 1987. In 1989, the Court's approval of the Federal government's drug testing programs for railroad workers and Federal Customs employees continued that erosion. In Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Association, the Court sustained a Federal regulation requiring blood and urine tests of railroad employees involved in major accidents or incidents and authorizing breath and urine tests for those violating certain safety rules. No warrant or individualized suspicion would be required to conduct tests for employees on duty at the time of a major accident. The Court also upheld a Federal drug screening program requiring urinalysis for all Customs Service employees seeking transfer or promotion to jobs directly involved in drug interdiction or requiring the use of a firearm. The Court will have many more employee drug testing cases before it in the future.