Physical Privacy

Going to take a drug test in the military can be very nerve recking. For the government, it provides a cost-effective way to weed out potentially unproductive or dangerous soldiers. For many of those soldiers being tested, drug testing can seem unnecessary, disruptive and a violation of privacy. In part, both are true.

Outside of the military, drug testing is regulated almost exclusively by state law, which can vary widely. New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Washington, D.C., for example, have no drug testing law at all. But in Oklahoma, violation of the state drug testing statutes can result in criminal penalties. There is a “0” tolerance in the military regarding drug abuse. In most states, employees have a right to privacy. An employer's drug testing program is lawful only if both the nature of the test and the particular procedures used respect the employee's rights. The nature of the test encompasses both the timing and the reason for the test. Drug testing generally falls into the following categories: 1) Pre-employment testing occurs prior to an offer of employment or as a routine part of the hiring process, 2) Random testing occurs without notice to the employee and without an employee-specific reason (to avoid potential discrimination claims, random testing should be truly random), 3) For-cause testing occurs when an employer has probable cause or reasonable suspicion that an employee is using drugs or has violated the company's anti-drug policy, 4) Periodic announced testing occurs when employees are given advance notice of the test, 5) Post-accident testing occurs after a job-related accident when there is a possibility that drug use played a role, 5) Rehabilitation testing occurs as part of a recovering employee's return-to-work program. (This option is rarely used in the military) Inspection under Military Rule of Evidence 313 is the most common method of testing in the Air Force. Commanders can select work sections, units, or segments of...