Labor Agency Frees States to Drug Test Jobless Aid Applicants (1)

States will gain new freedom to drug test a wide range of jobless workers seeking benefits, the Labor Department announced today in a new final rule.

The rule fulfills a longtime Republican desire to broaden states’ authority to mandate drug testing before workers can receive unemployment compensation. But the DOL move carries legal complications tied to President Donald Trump’s repeal of an Obama-era version of the rule, and could be challenged in court.

Implementing the 2012 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, the regulation gives states flexibility to determine the occupations that regularly conduct drug testing. Claimants ...