The Nation : Navy to Test Civilian Workers for Drugs

The Navy announced it would begin random drug testing of selected civilian employees this fall. The service said its final plan for the tests had been signed Aug. 6 by Navy Secretary William L. Ball III and that 81,000 of the Navy’s 337,000 civilian workers are being notified they will be subject to urinalysis testing for drugs. Although testing legally could begin as early as Oct. 6, the Navy does not plan to start the program until early November, said Lt. Ken Ross, a Navy spokesman. The Navy becomes the second military service to launch a testing program for civilian workers; the Army already is testing civilian workers in sensitive positions. All of the military services have long tested men and women on active duty.