PASS OR FAIL?

Businesses Increasingly Require Urine Samples For Employment

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In some respects, drug testing could cost businesses money, Hough said.

"There are significant indications that the disadvantages to employee
morale might outweigh the advantages of a drug-testing regime in
cases where public safety is not paramount," Hough said. "It also
makes it more difficult to recruit. Many workers are off-put, whether
drug users or not, by a drug-testing regime, so recruitment and
retention may be impaired."

Though most businesses absorb the costs of drug testing, those that
make employees pay for them also could have trouble attracting and
retaining workers, Hough said. And some workers might avoid companies
they think invade privacy.

Privacy rights

The ACLU opposes drug testing as a violation of the U.S.
Constitution's Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches.

"As politicians fight a war on drugs, we as a nation are willing to
do almost anything to protect ourselves from the big picture of drug
use -- a picture that's probably wildly exaggerated," Seagraves said.
"Drug testing is invasive, unethical, immoral and unconstitutional."

Some local businesses support their employees' right to privacy.

"I think that's a personal choice if someone wants to do drugs, as
long as it doesn't interfere with their work," said Jerry Duke, who
owns printing company Jade Business Forms. "I think drug testing is
an invasion of privacy."

Also, many tests enable employers to find out a lot more about
applicants than whether they're on drugs, such as whether they're
pregnant or whether they smoke, Balsley said. A person taking Ritalin
for Attention Deficit Disorder might test positive for amphetamines,
he said -- not necessarily something you want to share with a
potential employer.

"It should all be kept confidential, but you have to be careful,"
Balsley said. "Whether someone is taking medication is their business
and their doctor's. The employer needs to watch out how they do those
screens."

But Wade doesn't think workers have any civil rights in the workplace, he said.

"I hear folks moaning and groaning all the time about their civil
rights -- 'You violated my right to privacy,' " he said. "Well, what
about my rights? Don't I have the right to work in a safe, drug-free
environment?"

But Seagraves says the two aren't mutually exclusive.

"We live in a country with freedom and it's always a balancing act --
how much of your freedom are you willing to give up to feel safe?"
she said. "Is it always someone else's freedom you're willing to give
up? Blanket drug testing is a poor way to determine someone's ability
to work."

Kennickell, however, says it is the best way, and he has no concern
for his employees' right to privacy in regards to drug testing.

"Business is business -- I don't need to handicap myself with people
who are a danger to themselves or others," he said. "I'm not the
least concerned about their rights. I'm paying them money and they
have the right not to work here."

The law

Kennickell runs a private company and can set his own drug-testing
policy. But there are some laws that govern who must be drug tested,
how and when.

The U.S. Department of Transportation requires 8 million
transportation workers with safety sensitive jobs to be tested for
drugs and alcohol. Last year, 0.3 percent of DOT employees randomly
tested were positive. That's 22 out of 7,833 employees, the agency
reported.

Many whose jobs fall under those requirements say they understand the
need for drug testing and don't mind it because they don't use drugs.

Jerry Nesmith has been driving trucks for four and a half years, and
he has been drug tested three times.

"It doesn't bother me; I pretty much expect it," Nesmith said. "They
have to make sure you're clean before you get behind the wheel to
cover the company's butt if you get in an accident."

The Savannah Airport Commission tests many of its employees under
Federal Aviation Administration guidelines, said Dan Coe, assistant
executive director.

"The airport is always looking at the most innovative ways to
increase safety to the flying public," Coe said. "Everything we do
centers around safety and security, and our employees come to work
trained to think that way."

Though the Savannah police and firefighters are exempt from federal
drug-testing laws, they're still tested randomly because they asked
to be, said Chris Wilburn, coordinator of the city's Employee
Assistance Program.

Most other city employees also don't fall under federal drug-testing
requirements, but they're tested anyway. All employees have to pass a
pre-employment drug test. Anyone thought to be under the influence of
drugs or alcohol can be tested under reasonable cause testing.

The city does five to 10 of these a year, Wilburn said. Most turn out
to be alcohol-related problems.

City employees in safety-sensitive jobs also are tested randomly.
Last year, the city did about 700 of those tests, at a cost of around
$14,000, Wilburn said. That was up from 1999, when the city did 570
random drug tests, 21 of which were positive. Because the city is
self-insured, there is no workers' compensation discount.

Most city employees accept being drug tested as part of life, Wilburn said.

"Who's going to tell you they like being drug tested?" he said. "But
it's a necessary evil."

At least some city employees don't object.

Michelle Brown has worked for the city for almost three years and had
to get a drug test before she was hired. Her job isn't safety
sensitive -- it involves data entry.

"It wasn't bad," Brown said of the test. "The nurse stood outside the
door, so I was in the bathroom by myself. I just couldn't wash my
hands until after I got out."

But employees in other cities have resisted. In Seattle last year,
eight people sued to stop drug testing for all municipal employees.
In October, the Washington Court of Appeals ruled the city's random
urine testing was an unjustified invasion of personal privacy, since
it was not tailored to meet safety needs.

ACLU Atlanta staff attorney Robert Tsai said he thinks Savannah city
employees might have grounds to file a similar challenge.

"The government can only drug test where there is significant risk of
danger, like if you're driving a school bus or operating a crane,"
Tsai said. "In general, people enjoy protection from searches and
seizures in the absence of evidence they have committed some wrong.
With blanket or random drug testing, that's the antithesis of having
specific information."

Each business must decide for itself whether the cost -- actual and
potential -- of testing employees is worth it.

"My approach is that drug testing should be driven by the
requirements of the job," Hough said. "Drug abuse is a rather common
situation in this society, but it certainly isn't the cause of all
low productivity or other problems in the workplace."

Who does it

Major Savannah-area employers that drug-test employees:

* Memorial Health University Medical Center: 3,500 employees

* St. Joseph's Candler Health System's: 3,600 employees

* The city of Savannah: 2,000 employees

* Savannah Airport Commission: 105 workers