ABA Family Legal Guide

Law and the Workplace

The Hiring Process

Can government employees be subject to random drug testing?

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the government from engaging in unreasonable searches and seizures. This restriction acts as a limit on a public employer's ability to use a drug test on its employees. Courts have generally been reluctant to allow public employers to engage in random drug tests. Instead, they usually require the employer to show some reasonable suspicion of drug use, or some compelling evidence that public safety would be jeopardized if the employee used drugs. Drug testing has been upheld for customs officers who are directly involved in drug interdiction, and for employees who are required to carry firearms.