Governor Scott Wants to Drug Test State Employees

BRADENTON – On Tuesday, Governor Rick Scott issued an executive order directing state agencies to implement a drug-testing policy within 60 days for state employees. Scott's policy says that all state employees including senior management must be drug-tested at least quarterly.

Whether the policy will be enforceable remains to be seen. The Florida Supreme Court has already ruled against cases in which workers were not in charge of children, carrying a weapon or operating machinery.

Howard Simon, ACLU executive director, said in a statement Tuesday, "The state of Florida cannot force people to surrender their constitutional rights in order to work for the state. Absent any evidence of illegal drug use, or assigned a safety-sensitive job, people have a right to be left alone.

"Coming from a Governor who promised to protect our freedoms by limiting the intrusive reach of government into our personal lives, this massive expansion of government power at the expense of basic rights is stunning and exposes the state to serious future legal liability."

Questions have also surfaced with regard to Governor Scott's financial interest in Solantic, a medical services provider that does such drug testing. No mention was made as to whether the company would be barred from participating in providing such services, since the governor would in effect profit from implementing the new policy were Solantic to participate.