WASHINGTON — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) on Tuesday evening formally proposed drug testing for people who want unemployment benefits, but there’s just one problem: President Barack Obama won’t allow it.
Some background on a fight that’s been happening behind the scenes: Until 2012, federal law barred states from using a drug test as a condition of eligibility for unemployment insurance. That year, Congress changed the law, saying states could test people in occupations where on-the-job testing is common — but leaving it up to the U.S. Department of Labor to say which occupations fit the bill. Republicans and Democrats disagreed sharply over how many workers would be affected, but either way lawmakers didn’t give the department a deadline, and it has been taking its sweet time.
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Rebecca Dixon is a senior staff attorney with the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group that opposes unemployment drug testing and supports the administration’s proposed rule. Dixon pointed out that states already are able to disqualify workers from benefits if they’re fired for drug-related misconduct.
“The unemployment insurance program is designed to replace a worker’s wage when they lose a job through no fault of their own,” Dixon said. “It’s not a drug testing program.”
