Federal Employee Drug Testing

GAO discussed federal agency employee drug testing plans, and the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) estimates of drug testing costs. GAO found that: (1) federal employees occupying testing-designated positions (TDP) would be randomly tested for drug use; (2) agencies did not uniformly classify TDP; (3) planned testing frequently varied widely; (4) applicant, post-accident, and follow-up testing significantly varied; and (5) the rate of follow-up testing of employees administratively referred for treatment ranged from once per month to three times in 2 years. GAO also found that: (1) most agencies proposed testing for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, and phencyclidine; (2) agency plans lacked criteria regarding disciplinary action to be taken against first-time confirmed drug users and did not establish procedures for applicants to follow to challenge a positive drug test; (3) OMB estimated a cost of $63 per person for drug testing, but did not include the cost of accident and reasonable-suspicion testing; and (4) agency plans did not provide for continuing oversight or independent monitoring of drug testing programs.