Drug testing state employees and welfare recipients

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In the last 2 years Governor Rick Scott of Florida has been pushing to require state employees to be drug tested while the Florida Courts have held the effort to be unconstitutional.

The Scott administration has continued to appeal these adverse rulings, however the US Supreme Court this week refused to hear the Governor’s appeal

Drug Testing Appeal Rick Scott
Florida Supreme Court refuses to hear Rick Scott’s drug testing appeal. (Photo credit: FLGov.com)

on his executive order which would have impacted approximately 85,000 state government workers.

The ruling by the Supreme Court lets stand an appeals court decision that said Scott’s executive order was too broad. Other federal courts have also struck down this order along with a Florida law requiring welfare recipients to be drug tested.

After the Supreme Courts ruling Governor Scott said in a statement that he would, “continue to fight” for the expansion of employee drug testing.

Also in the State of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has signed legislation which would require applicants for welfare to be drug tested.This new law in Georgia would only apply when authorities believe by “reasonable suspicion” that the applicant is using drugs. With the recent ruling by a federal judge that Florida’s attempt to drug test welfare recipients was unconstitutional, Georgia’s new law is certain to be headed for the courts.

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