The Des Moines Register
Thursday, February 19, 1998, Page 5M
Senate approves easing
of drug-testing restrictions
By THOMAS A. FOGARTY
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
The Iowa Senate on Wednesday broke a
year-old deadlock and approved legislation expanding employers' rights to compel workers
to give urine samples for drug- and alcohol tests.
"We have a tremendous drug problem here in Iowa that needs to be
resolved," said Sen. Steve King, R-Kiron, a construction company owner who managed
the bill
in debate.
Critics said the measure goes too far in invading the privacy of
law-abiding workers and could be used by management as a tool for harassment.
The Senate approved the bill
and sent it to the House, where passage is considered likely. Twenty-six Republicans
voted to approve the bill.
Twenty-one Democrats and Republican Sen. Jack Rife of Durant, chairman of the
Business and Labor Committee, voted against it.
"We don't have a lot of compassion for people with human
frailties," Rife said.
If enacted, the bill
would amend the 11-year-old state law that balances the rights of employers to test for
drugs with workers' privacy rights. Business groups say the law is so restrictive
it compromises work-place safety. They also say it hinders job growth in Iowa.
As approved by the Senate, the bill
would, for the first time, permit random testing or workers for drug and alcohol
use. Federal law permits random testing for some workers in safety-sensitive jobs.
The bill
also would lower the legal standard needed for testing a specific employee outside of a
random selection program to a "reasonable suspicion" of drug or alcohol use.
The bill
also liberalizes the authority of employers to test prospective and newly hired employees.
It prohibits the use of blood as a testing medium, a concession to
those who fear genetic testing could lead to future discrimination in employment and
insurance.
A positive test or failure to surrender a sample for testing could lead
to firing, the bill
says. Employers with 50 or more workers would be required to help pay for the
rehabilitation of uninsured alcohol abusers. Employers would not be liable for
rehabilitation costs of workers shown to be abusing illegal drugs.
Senate approval of the bill
appears to unsnag a major item on the Republican agenda.
The party seized control of both legislative chambers in the 1996
election. The House approved a broader version of the drug-testing bill
in 1997. The Senate debated a drug-testing bill
last year but lacked the 26 votes needed to pass it.
Thomas A. Fogarty can be reached at fogartyt@news.dmreg.com or (515) 286-2533
The Des Moines Register
Thursday, February 19, 1998, Page 5M
letters@news.dmreg.com