80HILO >> A Kailua-Kona woman started work as a Hawaii County legal clerk this week after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order saying she doesn’t have to submit a urine sample to begin her new job.
Hawaii County had told Rebekah Taylor-Failor to complete a urinalysis before starting work. The county said her drug test wasn’t going to screen for drug use, but assess her health.
But U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson ruled that requiring a urinalysis as a condition of employment would violate Taylor-Failor’s Fourth Amendment rights, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Wednesday.
His ruling allowed Taylor-Failor to start work on Monday. A hearing for her lawsuit seeking to overturn the county’s policy is scheduled for May 8.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Taylor-Failor, argues that the county’s policy unjustly invades the privacy of applicants to a position not affecting public safety.
In addition to a urine sample, applicants also must disclose their physical and mental health history, according to the lawsuit.
County assistant corporation counsel Laureen Martin said the county’s long-standing policy mirrors policies at other public agencies around the state.
She said the purpose is to “make sure that individual is able to perform the jobs and functions” required.
The urinalysis tests for “proteins, sugar, red and white blood cell counts, specific gravity, and nitrates,” the county said in its response to the plaintiff’s motion for a temporary restraining order.
It wasn’t clear if anyone has been denied employment because of the results of such tests.
