State agency releases figures for jobs programs
(Indiana) – Officials say a drug-testing program that began in July for unemployed people seeking job training has revealed that about 2% of applicants have failed mandatory drug tests. The state Department of Workforce Development says 13 people, or 1 % of the 1,240 applicants tested for drugs through the end of November did not pass with 3 applicants refusing to take the test and seven samples were retakes due to diluted samples. Agency Commissioner Mark Everson says he thinks the program has been more effective than the numbers show and that he expects many who would have failed didn’t bother applying because they knew they wouldn’t pass. The ACLU said it thinks such tests are unconstitutional, but it hasn’t challenged the practice because it has not received any formal complaints.
