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Florida Drug Testing Law Ruled Unconstitutional

A federal judge has invalidated Governor Rick Scott's executive order that state employees be tested for drugs, finding it violates constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro declared that Scott’s executive order to conduct random drug tests of 85,000 state employees amounted to an “unreasonable” search under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. Her decision was based on U.S. Supreme Court precedents that have cited the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches, concluding that governments cannot require job applicants to take drug tests absent a “special need,” such as safety.

The lawsuit was brought by the The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The ACLU commented:

“If the state is going to require a drug test as a condition of keeping your job, it needs to have a reason. And simply being against drugs isn’t enough,”

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