National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab

National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab (1989), along with its companion case of Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Association (1989), stands out for the proposition that under some circumstances, public employers may be able to require staff members to submit to suspicionless drug testing. Although Von Raab was not set in a school context, it raises interesting implications for employees of public school systems.

Facts of the Case

In Von Raab, employees of the U.S. Customs Service and their union filed suit on behalf of employees who were preparing to apply for “covered” positions. The suit challenged the Customs Service's urinalysis drug testing program, alleging that it violated, among other things, their Fourth Amendment rights, because it called for suspicionless drug searches.

It is worth noting that ...

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