Texas advances bill to require drug screening for welfare

[CaptainHaplo]

Originally Posted by August

Maybe not but a little fire and brimstone judiciously applied now and then does help to fill the collection basket.

Very true. Which is why it has become an acceptable practice for many. Appalling.

But to steer back to the original topic.....

However, they can generally require you to take one as a condition of employment, as long as they follow the rules. If you don't want to take the test, you can take yourself out of the running for the job.

Soucre: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...-if-33051.html

Because welfare is not something that you are required to apply for, but can (as the roughly 1600 Florida applicants chose to do) remove yourself voluntarily from the process, I do not see where the problem is. I mean sure, if everyone was required to apply for welfare benefits, sure that would be an invasion of privacy. But since application is a voluntary process, what is the legal difference?

I recall Mookie talked about it being "insurance". Ok - lets say you have a life insurance policy - and you OD on illegal drugs and die. If your insurance policy has a clause (as many do) that refuse to pay out if death was due to an illegal activity - or even specify drug use - they are not going to pay. They require a death certificate - and if the cert says the cause of death was a drug overdose, you can bet the beneficiary (s) won't see a dime. That is legal. Drug screenings are legal in insurance claims when its for benefits. So why is a claim on "social" insurance somehow "special"?