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PATRICIA S. BANGERT et al. Plaintiffs
vs.
DONALD P. HODEL Defendant. NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES et al. Plaintiffs v. DONALD P. HODEL Defendant
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Issues:
Random testing, marijuana, reasonable suspicion, public employees, policy and procedure, safety, cocaine.
Case Summary:
Patricia Bangert and eight other employees of the U.S. Department of the Interior file a motion for preliminary injunction against the agency's proposed drug testing program. The department's testing policy called for random urinalysis testing and permitted additional testing based on reasonable suspicion for drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, opiates and phencyclidine (PCP). Department officials argued the policy was necessary because many of its employees held "sensitive positions" related to public health and safety.
Decision of lower jurisdiction:
This is the first judicial review of this case.
Outcome:
A split decision. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the employees' motion for preliminary injunction against the policy's provision for random testing. However, the court denied the motion for an injunction against testing based on reasonable suspicion.