The Nation - News from April 10, 1988

The government will issue detailed guidelines outlining the procedure for testing federal workers for illegal drug use, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said in Washington. The guidelines, to be published Monday in the Federal Register, set forth “conditions under which (urine) specimens would be taken and . . . the standards would have to be met,” said the spokesman, Campbell Gardett. The rules do not cover which employees will be tested or under what circumstances, Gardett said. Such matters will be delineated in plans by individual departments and agencies, he said. Now, only the Pentagon and Transportation Department test employees in sensitive positions. The technical guidelines were proposed nearly 14 months ago in response to a September, 1986, executive order issued as part of President Reagan’s campaign for a drug-free workplace.