European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 18, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Mandatory drag tests Are they constitutional by Andrea Neal United press International mandatory drug tests in the workplace Are catching on around the country despite concerns about their constitutionality and their , the supreme court will decide if forcing government workers to Lake a urine lest violates the right to privacy and the fourth amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures in the meantime Legal experts expect a flood of challenges to various drug testing programs in government jobs and private Industry. If Stales and the Federal government begin to move As quickly As they seem to be. You re going to see lots of suits around the country said Michael Milleman professor of constitutional Law Al Tho University of Maryland. Milleman said he believes drug testing programs will meet constitutional standards Only if they Are based on actual suspicion of drug use and Only if they Are narrowly tailored to employees in highly sensitive  there la a heavy Burden upon the government to justify the tests Milleman said. It suggests to me that absolute Carto Blanche mandatory tests Are unconstitutional. It seems to me there has to be an individualized  so Lar most court cases involving drug testing have involved Public employees because the government is subject to the fourth amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches. Private companies have More latitude in setting restrictive conditions of employment although challenges Are possible based on state Laws or contractual grounds. According to recent reports. 25 percent of the nation s Fortune 500 companies have implemented drug testing programs. The list includes Ford motor co., ism Lockheed and Trie new York times. The Public was largely unaware of the growing use of drug tests until september when president Reagan ordered Federal Agency Heads to set up mandatory testing programs Lor employees in sensitive government positions Trio president s action prompted a Federal suit in Louisiana where the National Treasury employees Union already had challenged the testing of customs service workers. We believe most of our members Are against this kind of drug testing said Teu spokesman George King. We re not against drug testing when there is reasonable suspicion that an employee s work has been impaired when an employee s action on the Job is not up la that employee s Standard King added. Buith president s mandatory order says you Are guilty until proven innocent which is just the opposite of the philosophy of our Basic system of  the american civil liberties Union also has opposed the drug tests on constitutional grounds arguing the tests Are unreliable and could be used against the innocent. Acle director Ira Glasser said the most commonly used test cannot distinguish Between common cold medicines and illegal  lower courts have been divided on the Issue but the majority have said tests by the government must be based on individualized suspicion in Newark n.j., . District judge Lee Sarokin threw out the results of Surprise drug tests conducted on Plainfield no firefighters ruling earlier this month the tests represented George Orwell s big brother society come to  Lealyear a state Superior court judge in Hackensack n.j., struck Down a school Board s policy requiring drug tests of High school students finding that the policy violated the reasonable privacy expectations of  but assistant Horney general Richard Willard said he believes the weight of precedent