The Truth About Drug-Testing the Unemployed

The law has many problems, including Constitutionality. And while proponents say tax money should not fund drug use, opponents see more sinister stereotyping at work.

March 1, 2012

The new federal law that lets states drug-test applicants for unemployment compensation was a small win for the Republican-led efforts to examine the urine of everyone receiving government safety-net benefits. How many people it will affect depends on how the Department of Labor establishes the regulations—and on whether the courts continue to hold that such policies violate the Constitution’s protection against unreasonable searches.

House Republicans initially wanted to let states drug-test all 7.5 million people collecting unemployment compensation. The compromise reached in the payroll tax-cut deal, along with cutting six months off the time people can collect, authorizes states to test applicants for benefits in two circumstances: if they were fired for using drugs, or if the only occupation they’re suited for is one the Department of Labor lists as commonly requiring drug-testing.

The first provision is “nothing new,” says George Wentworth, a senior staff attorney at the National Employment Law Project’s Connecticut office. Laws in about 20 states, he says, specifically state that people fired for drug use are not eligible for unemployment benefits, and all states disqualify people who lost their jobs because of “willful misconduct.”   READ MORE