The State - News from July 11, 1988

The state Supreme Court refused to order an immediate halt to drug testing of job applicants at a legal publishing firm in Alameda County. The American Civil Liberties Union and other lawyers for three job applicants had sought to reinstate a Superior Court judge’s ruling prohibiting drug and alcohol testing of applicants at Matthew Bender and Co. in Oakland. The ruling June 8 by Judge Michael Ballachey was the first in California to forbid pre-employment drug testing at a private company. But it was overturned June 24 by the 1st District Court of Appeal. Lawyers for the three applicants appealed to the state Supreme Court and asked for an immediate stay of the appellate ruling, which was denied. The applicants’ appeal of the 1st District ruling is still pending before the court. Matthew Bender started its testing program in April, 1987, following the policy of its parent company, The Times Mirror Co. All applicants must take a urine test as part of a medical examination. The lawsuit cited the constitutional right to privacy.