Drug Testing in the Workplace
We resolve that drug testing is an invasion of privacy and infringes on employees' personal rights. We will show that drug testing is a violation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. The courts maintained this interpretation until recently. We will argue that any test must be both valid and reliable, and drug tests are neither.Drug testing is used to detect the presence of illegal drugs found in a person's body; this is done by collecting a specimen of blood, sweat, hair, or most commonly urine. Drug testing is a humiliating experience because it makes the employees feel as though they're criminals. The individual is watched carefully as he or she urinates into a cup in a restroom with no running water. This is done so that the individual will not tamper with the specimen. Companies follow these procedures to ensure truthfulness. However, random drug testing infringes on our Civil Rights. They are an invasion of privacy, which is protected by the Fourth Amendment. "Urinalysis reveals not only the presence of illegal drugs, but it also reveals the existence of many other physical and medical conditions including genetic diseases and pregnancy" (www.aclu.org/library/pbr5.html ). The disclosure of this type of information c
They stated in their study, "Drug Testing: A Bad Investment" that "Junk Science" fueled the growth of drug testing through the drug industries promotion of unsubstantiated claims and phantom research. As America began to enter the Reagan and Bush years, the administrative search "exception" began to be seen to apply to cases involving people outside of the military. Again and again, violations of the Fourth Amendment were deemed as administrative necessity. Through recent research national organizations are coming to the conclusion that drug testing is unfair, often inaccurate and are unproven as a means of stopping drug use in the workplace. It has made them more of a tool for the pursuit of political power than a protector and judge of the citizenry. At this rate soon there will be no probable cause standard at all. Disregarding all these factors the Supreme Court concluded that the testing was reasonable because of the administrative search exception to the Fourth Amendment, and affirmed the state's interest in a drug-free workplace. 7 million to test 38 agencies, out of 29,000 employees only 153 tested positives, that's only . Millions of American workers, most of which are not suspected drug users, are asked to pass drug test in order to get a new job or to keep their existing job. Often someone must observe the employee to be sure that there is no tampering. The ACLU also found that moderate use of illicit drugs by workers during off duty hours is no more likely than moderate off duty alcohol use to compromise workspace safety.
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