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City of Hollywood urine drug testing policy declared unconstitutional
by federal court
April 13, 2000
U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp today struck down the City of Hollywood's Drug and Alcohol Abuse Policy as unconstitutional. The policy required that all new employees of the City undergo urine screening for drugs.
The decision comes more than a year after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) initially challenged the invasive policy. The ACLU filed suit on behalf of Thomas Baron, an accountant who lost the job offered to him by the City of Hollywood after refusing to take a urine test. Baron is seeking a modest amount of lost compensation as a result of not being hired. That issue is still pending.
"Judge Ryskamp's decision is an affirmation of the privacy rights and dignity of working people," said ACLU Cooperating Attorney Ephraim Hess, who represented Baron along with his law partner Colleen O'Loughlin and ACLU of Florida Legal Director Andy Kayton.
"Today's decision from the federal court confirms that highly personal and humiliating urine tests of employees, without suspicion that those employees are using drugs, are unconstitutional," O'Loughlin added.
Background in the case
Thomas Baron was hired by the City of Hollywood after working as a temporary accountant through an agency for three months. Baron worked for Interim Accounting Professionals, an accounting temporary employment agency hired by the City of Hollywood. His duties included preparing bank reconciliations of all accounts and preparing a database of all lease agreements with the city, as well as other sources of city revenue. Baron received praise for the quality of his work performance from the City's accounting managers, and after a three-month period, the City of Hollywood hired Baron as part of the city's accounting pool. When he refused to submit to the City's drug test as a matter of principle, however, the city revoked its decision to hire him. The ACLU of Florida filed suit on behalf of Baron in January 1999.
