Republicans Move to Expand Drug Testing for Unemployment Benefits
NOVANEWS
By Mike Ludwig
(Photo: Phillipe Delavie; Edited: LW TO)
House Republicans gave Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and other Republican governors a gift on Wednesday: They voted to repeal a Labor Department rule that limited which workers state governments can drug test before handing out unemployment benefits. The vote tally was 236-189, and largely fell along party lines.
Nearly 50 labor and civil rights groups signed a letter arguing that the repeal legislation would allow states like Wisconsin to waste taxpayers dollars on drug testing already performed by employers and punish working families that are trying to get back on their feet. Funding for unemployment insurance generally comes out of workers' paychecks, so labor advocates argue the benefit is a right, not a privil...