Missouri House OKs drug tests for public officials, some welfare recipients

Missouri's elected officials and many people who receive cash welfare benefits would start undergoing drug screening under legislation given first-round House approval Thursday.

Lawmakers, judges and other state officeholders would receive drug tests before taking office and every two years after that. The officials would pay for the tests, and refusing one would be considered an admission that they used a controlled substance without permission.

Likewise, work-eligible adults who apply and receive cash welfare payments would be tested if the Department of Social Services has a "reasonable suspicion" that the person is using drugs. Those who refuse or test positive would not be eligible for the cash benefits for one year. Their children could keep receiving benefits, but the money would need to be handled by a third party outside the household.

House leaders said Thursday that the drug tests would give taxpayers assurance that their money is not going toward drug use. They said not requiring elected officials to be tested would be hypocritical.

"We're not going to subsidize drug use by welfare beneficiaries," said House Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt, R-Blue Springs.

The drug-testing requirement would apply to applicants to the cash-aid program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. It is designed to help low-income parents learn job skills and care for their children. More than 43,000 families consisting of 112,000 people receive benefits through the assistance program.

A single parent with two children receives $292 per month through the program, but must work or take job training courses for at least 30 hours per week.

Lawmakers approved the drug-testing bill 113-40 on Thursday, and it needs another vote before moving to the Senate. Lawmakers debated the bill for three days, but most of that discussion focused on drug screening for elected officials and the possible penalties for officeholders who fail tests.

Initially, the House legislation would have allowed people who test positive for drugs to complete a treatment program and still keep their welfare benefits. Lawmakers on Thursday removed that provision and lowered the threshold for the evidence needed to require drug tests.

Rep. Scott Dieckhaus said immediately cutting off benefits creates a strong incentive to not use drugs.

"We need to send them a stern message that they need to get off the drugs," said Dieckhaus, R-Washington.

Several Democrats expressed concerns about the process for determining who would be required to take drug tests. Rep. Jeff Roorda, D-Barnhart, called it "constitutionally repugnant" to only require suspicion before having welfare recipients submit to testing.

The legislation gives the Department of Social Services until July 2011 to develop its drug-testing policies. It requires the department to give lawmakers an annual report on the number of drug tests taken and the results of those tests.

Starting in October, Social Services Department employees who do not report suspected drug use or fraud by those seeking benefits would be fired.

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The Huffingtion Post this week opined on the topic  services and the ICE treatment of workers DHE also oversees everify ( e-verify )

Today, workers, along with immigrant and civil rights advocates, exposed evidence of a disturbing and dangerous attack on workers' rights by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). Testimony in the case David et al. v. Signal et al. has revealed that high level executives of defense contractor Signal International worked closely with ICE and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to quash organizing efforts by courageous workers from India who were allegedly caught in a human trafficking ring.

The case should be alarming to all workers, because an attack on the rights of any group of workers puts all workers' rights at risk.

Lured by the chance to pursue the American dream, hundreds of workers from India were recruited in 2006 to work at Signal as part of a post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction effort. These men, welders and pipe fitters, paid fees averaging $20,000 apiece to labor recruiters, who had promised them permanent jobs and green cards. When the workers arrived in the United States, they were subjected to horrific conditions in what Signal called "man camps," and tethered to Signal by short-sighted immigration laws. Under the current guest worker visa program, workers who enter the U.S. on temporary employment-based visas are bound to the sponsoring employer and become undocumented if they are fired or quit their job--even if they do so to escape exploitation.

Refusing to suffer in silence, the workers organized a campaign to assert their rights. Signal, instead of negotiating with workers to address their issues, sought guidance from ICE on how to deport workers who were causing "unrest." An ICE official advised Signal to "take [the Indians] out of line on their way to work, get their personal belongings, get them in a van...and send them back to India." According to the workers, Signal held a pre-dawn raid against its employees in March 2007. The deposition transcripts indicate that for the next two years, ICE met repeatedly with Signal and developed a plan for Signal to share information with ICE so that ICE could "send a message to the remaining workers that it is not in their best interests to try and 'push' the system."

In 2008, former Signal workers showed their faith in the American legal system by writing to the Department of Justice, stating that they had been victims of human trafficking and labor abuses, and asking the department to conduct a criminal investigation.

Our justice system is based on the belief that workers who allege abuse will receive a fair and impartial investigation. The Signal workers were denied this fundamental right. The evidence of collusion between ICE and Signal shows that ICE has a flagrant disregard for the rights of immigrant workers, which casts serious doubt on the agency's ability to effectively enforce federal immigration law. As a result of ICE's interference, the workers' ability to remain in the U.S. even long enough to plead their cases is in jeopardy.

The Obama administration must act swiftly to undo the harms caused by ICE under the previous administration and ensure that the current investigations proceed with full impartiality. The immigration and border patrol agents implicated in the case should be held accountable for their actions and violations. The Department of Homeland Security must sign a strong Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and other labor and employment agencies to prevent ICE and CBP from interfering in labor disputes.

Finally, Congress should hold oversight hearings to determine whether the disturbing evidence obtained in this lawsuit reflect an isolated case, or whether this is one of many examples of ICE interference in labor disputes. Congress must do more than simply wag its finger at ICE. Elected officials should hold the agency accountable for its actions and put protections in place to ensure that this abuse of authority does not happen again. Protecting labor laws for the most vulnerable workers keeps standards high for all workers. America deserves a justice system that is free and fair for all of its residents, not only a select few.

this article was written by Marielena Hincapié is executive director of the National Immigration Law Center

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An article on FoxNews.com – “Party Crashers Should Go From White House to Big House” – tells how a “social climbing couple” apparently crashed a White House state dinner party without an invitation, and possibly without a background check that all White House guests must undergo. While exactly how the uninvited pair – Michaele and Tareq Salahi – gained access to the White House is under investigation, the article notes that the incident “was a colossal breakdown of security and staffing procedures.”

According to the article, after the Office of the Social Secretary extends an official invitation on behalf of the President and First Lady to the guest by mail, the guest replies to the invitation by phoning or mailing the following information: name, date of birth, Social Security number, race, and sex. The information is then turned over to the Secret Service and they run a criminal background check on every guest who has accepted the invitation, a procedure is referred to as being “WAVED” since “WAVES” is the acronym used by the Secret Service for their background check procedures for guests, FoxNews.com reported.

However, according to FoxNews.com, if a person arrives at the White House but is not on the guest list, that person’s information must be verified and the Secret Service would require the person to wait while a computer criminal background check is performed. In the case of Michaele and Tareq Salahi – who had their photos taken with President Obama, Vice President Biden, the Prime Minister of India, and some celebrities – it is not yet known if the Secret Service performed a criminal background check on the pair before they passed through security, FoxNews.com reported.

While the party crashers appeared to be only interested in seeking fame and not in harming any invited guests, the fact remains that people with more evil intentions – and without proper security clearance through criminal background checks – could have caused great harm to many important world leaders. Background checks – if done, and done properly – remain an effective screening method used to keep uninvited “guests” out of workplaces everywhere, from the White House to the small corner business.

Pre-Employ.com – a nationally recognized background check and Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO) provider – was recently ranked in HRO Today Magazine's 2009 Bakers Dozen of Top Employment Screening Services. For information about Pre-Employ.com’s services such as background checks, drug tests, and other employment screening solutions, take a tour at www.pre-employ.com/tour, visit www.pre-employ.com, email info@pre-employ.com, or call 1-800-300-1821. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PreEmploy.

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On the heels of the controversy surrounding Rush Limbaugh’s failed attempt to own a National Football League (NFL) franchise, a story from the New York Times – “For Potential Owner, a Background Check Worthy of the K.G.B.” – sheds light on the stringent background check policy of another sports league, the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the limitations of “International” background checks.

According to the Times, Russian billionaire Mikhail D. Prokhorov recently reached an agreement to pay $200 million for 80 percent of the NBA’s New Jersey Nets franchise and 45 percent of a proposed arena for the team in Brooklyn. To complete the deal, the Times reports, Prokhorov will not only have to be approved by at least 23 of the NBA’s 30 owners, but also – like any other prospective owner – pass a background check investigation by the league and a security firm that specializes in risk management.

While NBA Commissioner David Stern was quoted by the Times as saying the league’s background check policy is “very extensive, stringent, some would say, invasive,” experts in corporate risk-management say a background check of Prokhorov would not be easy because, in Russia, public records are scarce or incomplete, bank records are difficult to examine, and news media reports are not always reliable.

Though the league’s investigation may never create a detailed picture of Prokhorov as it would have for an American buyer, the international background check of Prokhorov by the NBA is expected to involve various sources from Russian police, military, diplomatic, and intelligence – even some from the former K.G.B., the national security “secret service” agency of the former U.S.S.R, this according to the Times.

Just like the NBA’s background check process is designed to weed out inappropriate buyers who lack the finances for ownership or could be a public relations disaster to the league, businesses both large and small need to ensure the character, personal history and integrity of each new hire. Pre-Employ.com – a leading background check and employment-related services provider – can assist any-sized business in any type of industry to implement a flexible, accurate, and cost-effective background check solution.

For more information about Pre-Employ.com’s background check and employment-related services – including International background checks – visit www.pre-employ.com, email info@pre-employ.com, or call 1-800-300-1821. Follow PreEmploy.com on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PreEmploy.

tahearn@pre-employ.com

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A story from “the land down under” shows that the use of drug testing during employment background screening has become so widespread that even Pop Princess Britney Spears and her “Circus” tour are getting in on the act.

According to an article in the Herald Sun, Australia's largest-selling daily newspaper, Spears has demanded that the 225 members of the support crew working on her sold-out “Circus” concert tour – including 150 local staff – must obey the terms of a confidential contract that orders them to undergo random alcohol and drug testing while in Australia, and workers refusing or breaching those “zero tolerance” terms will have their contracts terminated.

The alcohol and drug testing will involve giving a urine sample to Spears' tour management team, and those who sign the contract are bound by a confidentiality agreement, the Herald Sun reported after being shown the confidential contract for alcohol and drug testing by a concert industry insider. Spears – who will perform in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth while in Australia in November – carried out similar alcohol and drug testing before and during her U.S. tour and before her European dates, according to the Herald Sun.

Whether a rich and famous pop star known worldwide like Britney Spears or an unknown owner of a small business trying to gain recognition, employers of all types and sizes need to use drug testing in order to ensure a drug-free workplace that lowers the risk of liability and lessens the chance for lost productivity. Many employees have already implemented a drug testing program for both pre-employment background screening purposes and random drug testing re-screening after employees are hired.

Nationally recognized pre-employment background screening provider Pre-Employ.com offers a variety of drug testing solutions that seamlessly integrate with the company’s premier background screening services. For more information on creating a drug testing program as part of a successful background screening solution, visit http://www.pre-employ.com, email info@pre-employ.com, or call 1-800-300-1821. Follow Pre-Employ.com on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/PreEmploy.

Related Blog: Survey Reveals 3 Out Of 4 Companies Have Drug Test Policy

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