A Miami federal judge has declared that Florida Governor Rick Scott’s executive order requiring drug testing for state employees is unconstitutional. Sascha Cordner has more.
U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro ruled Thursday that blanket testing of some 85,000 state workers violates the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. Scott’s order was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union. Its spokesman Baylor Johnson says drug testing should only be done if there is a suspected problem:
“The Governor’s order wasn’t based on any suspicion of drug use. It was just a blanket order mandating these invasive searches of your bodily fluids.”
The Governor says he respectfully disagrees with the ruling, and plans to appeal. The ruling could impact a new state law that would permit random state worker drug testing starting in July.
