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Court upholds drug testing rule

A federal appeals court upheld a 2008 U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring direct observation of transportation workers during drug testing.

On May 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled against BNSF Railway Co. and some transportation unions that had petitioned the court to review the rule modified to prevent cheating.

Petitioners had argued that direct observation of drug testing violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Fourth Amendment.

Circuit Judge David Tatel, in writing the opinion, said the federal policy is neither arbitrary nor capricious.

“Given the combination of the vital importance of transportation safety, the employees’ participation in a pervasively regulated industry, their prior violations of the drug regulations, and the ease of obtaining cheating devices capable of defeating standard testing procedures, we find the challenged regulations facially valid under the Fourth Amendment,” Tatel wrote.

Transportation workers who fail or refuse to take a drug test must successfully complete a drug treatment program and pass a series of urine tests as a condition of performing any safety-sensitive duties. The modified rule requires these tests be conducted under direct observation.