Drug testing mandate for Florida workers

background check law for maritime workers, a civil liberties union has questioned the constitutionality of the drug testing mandate that Gov. Rick Scott introduced, which would require state workers to submit to random drug testing. Opponents call mandatory pre-employment and unannounced, quarterly drug testing, a costly invasion of privacy in a state that has faced sweeping budget cuts since Scott entered office this year. Testing the more than 150,000 state workers each quarter will cost at least $23.5 million, according to The FAMUAN’s research. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) contends that Executive Order 11-58 provides for baseless checks and affords government more power than it is entitled. “The Executive Order, we believe, is unconstitutional because it is a government search and seizure without suspicion of drug use,” said Derek Newton, a representative of the Florida Chapter of the ACLU. “Therefore it is an unreasonable search and seizure executed by the government and prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.” Executive Order 11-58 was signed on March 22 and went into effect two months later. It bases these tests on the assumption that “the taxpayers of Florida are entitled to a public workforce that is fit for duty and, as such is free from the harmful dangerous influences of illegal drugs” but it doesn’t name the drugs that the state is looking for. With background checks being repealed and drug testing being enforced, it is certainly an odd 7 days for Rick Scott and Florida. While we are yet to see the consequences of the maritime background check repeal, it has taken no time at all for the effects of the drug screening legislation to come into play. Florida is certainly no stranger to controversy, and it will be interesting to see how these latest plots play out.]]>