Constitutional Law: Urinalysis and the Public Employer: Another Well-Delineated Exception to the Warrant Requirement?

• NCJ Number: 107911
• Journal: Oklahoma Law Review Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1986) Pages: 257-273
• Author(s): P B Lombardi
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The use of a business emergency standard would balance a concern for the individual's privacy with the need to protect the public welfare in determining when government employers could use urinalysis to detect drug and alcohol use by civilian employees.

Abstract

This standard would allow the government as employer to conduct warrantless searches upon specific, objective facts substantiating that an individual is currently under the influence of drugs or alcohol if the nature of the employee's work justifies an emergency search to prevent injury to the employee or to others. The likelihood, seriousness, and imminence of the injury would be assessed in each case. This standard would recognize the need to weigh the desirability of identifying alcohol and drug abusers against the constitutional mandate that citizens remain free from unreasonable government intrusion. It also recognizes the particular constitutional restrictions that apply to public employers at the Federal, State, and local levels. U.S. Supreme Court decisions have reaffirmed both the fourth amendment rights of public employees and exceptions to warrant requirements for employers. The emergency standard is a way of providing for searches while protecting employees' privacy rights. 110 footnotes.