Town plan to test workers for drugs faces obstacles

Stung by the arrest of four town highway workers on drug charges, Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio says he wants to randomly test all 450 town employees and may seek union cooperation because the practice is permitted only for certain jobs under the present contract.

Implementing such a plan in Smithtown, or any other place on Long Island, however, is likely to run into hurdles, experts indicated Thursday. Privacy and other legal concerns, union negotiations and the cost of the test themselves - up to $70 for urine and breath sampling - are just some of the obstacles to be overcome, experts say.

Smithtown, like most other municipalities, now relies on federal guidelines that recommend random testing of employees in transportation-related or other safety-sensitive positions, but not for most office or departmental government jobs.

The five drugs the guidelines suggest for random testing are cocaine, marijuana, PCP, amphetamines and opiates, such as heroin. Around 150 Smithtown workers currently get tested randomly by a local lab, but Vecchio said he's considering widening the policy.

"We're contemplating expanding our random testing to include all [town workers]," Vecchio said, adding, "We need to go to a larger pool."

Vecchio acknowledged such a plan, if approved, would require agreement from the Civil Service Employees Association.

Kelly Brown, president of the Smithtown CSEA unit, said, "I think it would be an overreaction."

Roger Kaplan, a Melville attorney specializing in workplace issues, said most public employers try to balance individuals' privacy concerns with a need to have drug-free employees, especially in "safety-sensitive" jobs - truck drivers or harbor masters - but do not extend testing to all their workers.

Under the federal guidelines, employees can face drug-testing as part of a pre-employment screening process and also after an on-the-job accident, if their observed behavior suggests drug abuse. A separate Breathalyzer test can be used to detect alcohol abuse.

Smithtown, like many Long Island municipalities, has its drug and alcohol tests conducted by the National Association of Drug-Free Employees, a Virginia-based firm with a local office in Commack. About 350 samples are screened from random testing from Long Island towns, villages and Nassau and Suffolk counties monthly, said Pat Sawicki, NADE's local supervisor. None of the local governments do random drug tests for their entire workforce, she said.

Huntington and Babylon conduct monthly random drug tests of town employees who hold commercial driver's licenses - around a third of their respective work forces - officials said Thursday. In North Hempstead, randomly tested workers can also include welders and mechanics.

Town workers who test positive must enroll in a rehabilitation program before they face the possibility of being fired, under federal guidelines and local union contracts. In Islip, officials said they may seek to expand the current union contract to test any worker involved in an accident incurring more than $1,500 in damages.

With Jennifer Maloney,

Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Denise M. Bonilla