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Scott Delays State Employee Drug Testing

MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – Faced with a pending lawsuit, Governor Rick Scott has ordered all agency heads, except the Department of Corrections, to delay implementing a policy of drug testing state workers.

Scott had originally signed an executive order that required all prospective hires to submit to a drug test during the application process. In addition, the order said all currently employees would be tested at random.

The tests were reported to cost $35 apiece and could have cost the state around $3.5 million per year once implemented.

The ACLU challenged the governor's order in court saying it violated a 2004 decision that found drug testing workers in the Department of Juvenile Justice was unconstitutional.

The U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that blanket suspicion-less drug testing can be allowed only if "the risk to the public safety is substantial and real."

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The News Service Of Florida contributed to this report.)

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