San Diego
People applying for jobs in public service or to operate heavy equipment for the City of San Diego will have to pass a drug test beginning in September, the city’s Civil Service Commission has decided.
The test will look for traces of amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, marijuana, PCP and other drugs, said Rich Snapper, the city’s personnel director.
Each test will cost the city $40 and will be administered to an estimated 250 to 400 people a year with tentative offers for jobs on the Harbor Patrol or as police officers, lifeguards, firefighters and operators of heavy equipment.
However, the Civil Service Commission struck down a proposal that would have required current city employees to pass the drug test when they transfer into one of the eligible jobs.
Snapper said city officials proposed the tests because of recent incidents in which city employees were found using drugs on the job.
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