Marijuana Policy Project

Former Policy May Be Revised, Reinstated

After a five-year hiatus, St. John the Baptist Parish government may resume random drug tests of some of its employees this year.

At its Tuesday meeting, the Parish Council unanimously agreed to have the parish attorney revise the random drug testing policy and bring it in line with state law. Once those revisions are complete, the parish's Civil Service Board, which first suggested reinstating random testing, will review the policy.

The council will have to give a final approval of the new policy. No figures on the cost of implementing random testing were available Wednesday.

In 1999 the council suspended random testing after parish attorneys told the council the policy was overly broad and at odds with state law. The policy stated that any parish employee in any position could be asked to submit to a drug test by their supervisor at any time. Failure to comply, or a positive test result, could have resulted in suspension or dismissal. But state law permits random testing only for employees who have safety-sensitive or security-sensitive jobs. The law also allows random testing for employees whose chief responsibilities include operating or maintaining public vehicles, or supervising anyone who does those jobs.

Council Chairman Joel McTopy, who was on the council when the policy was suspended, said the decision was made as a way to avoid any lawsuits or problems because of the policy.

Councilman Steve Lee, who made the motion to revise the policy, said it is important that the parish clears up any legal hurdles and reinstates the program as soon as possible. Though the parish still has the power to test any employee who displays behavior that suggests drug or alcohol abuse, the random testing policy will offer more protection, he said.

"My intention is to make sure that the policy stands up to the legal tests," Lee said. "I will support it when it comes back" to the council.

© 2005 The Times-Picayune

Newshawked-by: chip

Posted-by: Beth