California IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Judge Blocks Part of Drug-Testing Plan

A federal judge has temporarily blocked portions of the Navy’s mandatory drug-testing plan for civilian employees, but he let stand forced testing for pilots and others who work in public-safety jobs. U.S. District Judge Lowell D. Jensen issued the orders as part of a lawsuit filed by unions and groups representing about 300,000 civilian Navy workers around the world. They are challenging the Navy’s “Drug-Free Workplace Program” as an infringement on their constitutional rights. The drug program requires about 80,000 employees to subject themselves to random drug testing. Jensen temporarily blocked implementation of a requirement that workers involved in an accident must submit to testing for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and phencyclidine (PCP). Jensen said the law requires that there be a reasonable suspicion of drug use by those involved before a test can be required.