Countywide : Officials Halt Drug Tests for Bus Drivers
Mandatory, random drug testing of Orange County Transit District bus drivers was halted Monday after OCTD officials became aware of a court ruling against a federal agency that had been requiring such tests.
The OCTD board voted unanimously at its Monday meeting to end the drug tests. Ironically, the issue arose during a discussion of a staff request to hire more people to handle the paper work for drug testing.
“Apparently, a circuit court judge (in Washington D.C.) on Friday issued an order against UMTA (the Urban Mass Transit Administration),” said OCTD spokeswoman Joanne Curran.
“The judge didn’t say that the drug testing policy was bad, just that UMTA had exceeded its statutory authority.”
It was UMTA that had required local transit districts to conduct mandatory, random drug testing of employees in “safety-sensitive” positions. Failure to comply was punishable by withholding of UMTA grants.
Curran said OCTD began adhering to the UMTA policy on Dec. 21. She said “probably at least two dozen employees, mostly drivers and mechanics, have been tested and . . . not one test has come up positive.”
In Orange County, Teamsters officials, who last year won the right to represent OCTD bus drivers in a representation election, declined comment.
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