A hearing is underway in the Senate Economic Development Committee on a bill by Sen. Tommy Williams that would require pre-screening and drug tests for some recipients of unemployment benefits in Texas.
The bill would require that testing for people going into industries that require drug testing, such as transportation, and would utilize a pre-screening questionnaire to decide who gets tested. Failing would result in four weeks off the benefits, and allow for re-testing to get back on the rolls.
The bill is expected to save more than $13 million over the next five years from people expected to be dropped from the rolls for a short period of time after failing the test (an estimated rate of about 3.5 percent, based on stats of pre-employment screening fails from the Texas Workforce Commission.)
The bill is one of Gov. Rick Perry?s pet issues this session, and is meeting some strong resistance from Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, who is questioning the need for drug testing individuals who are going into an industry that would test them anyway.
She also said she worries about punishing people for trying to get benefits they deserve, the possibility of profiling, and other issues.
Congress approved last year the drug testing of individuals on unemployment benefits, and a handful of states have adopted the Department of Labor-driven program.
The AFL-CIO is against the bill, worrying about the stigma that comes up attaching drug use with unemployment.
The bill is supported by the Texas Association of Business, along with the builders, and the National Federation of Independent Businesses of Texas.
The bill was left pending in committee.
Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/03/drug-testing-for-unemployment-insurance.html/
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