U.S. Supreme Court to hear drug testing

Gov. Rick Scott

Tallahassee, Fla. – More than three years after Governor Rick Scott issued an executive seeking across-the-board drug testing for state employees, the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to decide whether to weigh in on the controversial policy.

The court is expected to discuss privately Friday whether to hear an appeal filed by the Governor after a lower court found the drug-testing plan was too broad.

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The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, with legal representation from the American Civil Liberties Union, challenged Scott's drug-testing policy, contending that it violates the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that the drug-test could not be justified constitutionally. The case was sent back to a district court to determine which workers could be tested. The Scott administration filed a petition in January asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the appeals-court decision.

Scott's arguments have received support in a brief filed by the attorneys general of Texas, Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Oklahoma and South Carolina.