NCJ Number
116378
Journal
University of Kansas Law Review Volume: 36 Issue: 4 Dated: (Summer 1988) Pages: 755-785
Date Published
1988
Length
31 pages
Annotation
The Federal Executive Order 12564 issued by President Reagan in September 1986 violates the Fourth Amendment insofar as it mandates the random urine testing of a broad range of Federal employees to detect drug use and the testing of all Federal employees without a warrant or probable cause, based on mere reasonable suspicion of illegal drug use.
Abstract
The Federal government did not institute these urinalysis programs in response to felt employment needs, because no discernible problem of drug abuse existed or appeared imminent among Federal employees. Instead, the drug testing programs were established in response to a law enforcement concern regarding the drug problem in society. Thus, the government cannot show the dramatic public concern necessary to justify the dramatic invasion of personal privacy these tests involved. Moreover, no constitutional justification exists at all for permitting urine testing on less than probable cause to believe that an employee is impaired on the job for any but the most sensitive of jobs. The government's argument that the drug problem is serious is not adequate to justify the widespread testing program. Adherence to constitutional protections and principles is as important today as it ever has been, as new technologies and strategies that threaten individual privacy are enlisted in the national crusade against drugs. Courts must remain impervious to the political pressures and assure that the rights of public employees are upheld. 112 footnotes.