Panel OKs drug tests for jobless benefits

A House panel voted narrowly Thursday to require drug testing of Arizonans who want jobless benefits. But a threat of losing federal funding leaves it unclear exactly how broad that testing would be. Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, said the measure is a recognition that those getting unemployment insurance are required to be ready to take a job. He said someone taking illegal drugs or unprescribed medications do not fit that definition and should not be entitled to the weekly payments. SB 1495 would mandate testing for anyone at the time of application. Anyone who fails would be ineligible but could reapply in 30 days. The legislation also calls for random testing of those already getting benefits. But Smith's proposal, already approved by the Senate, is running into a problem: the U.S. government. In a letter to state officials, Gay Gilbert, administrator of the Office of Unemployment Insurance at the Labor Department, said Congress always intended jobless benefits to be a "matter of right" to those who lost the jobs through no fault of their own. Gilbert said Congress has recently allowed states to perform drug testing of applicants - but only "in very limited circumstances." That generally involves only those who were fired from their previous job for failing a drug test, or if the only suitable work available for the applicant is in a field where drug testing is required, such as interstate transportation. Companies get a reduction of their federal unemployment tax obligations based on what they pay into the state's own jobless fund. But if a state's program is out of compliance, that credit goes away and their federal bill goes up. "Frankly, I think it's a bluff," Smith said of the risk. Others were not so sure. Rep. Nancy McLain, R-Bullhead City, an employer whose janitorial firm operates in Arizona and California, said, "I don't believe the federal government is going to have any reluctance at all to step in and say, 'Employer, you will make up the difference.' " Committee members did add language to the measure to say that any testing has to be in compliance with federal law. It's unclear whether that will stay when the bill reaches the House floor.