Military and DOD civilians are tested randomly. Not a big deal and randomly means sometimes people get tested two or three times in a six month period. Other government agencies can and do test. So, why wouldn't a state gov? When you become a government employee you give consent for things that most people don't have to such as monitoring of your computer and internet use. Tests don't pick up poppy seeds anymore. They're much more sensitive.
I have a real issue when someone brings up "in the privacy of your own home" about something that is illegal. It goes beyond that. It's about access to personal and private info that a lot of government agencies have. I've seen what drug use can do to people in jobs with that kind of access.
I have a real issue when someone brings up "in the privacy of your own home" about something that is illegal. It goes beyond that. It's about access to personal and private info that a lot of government agencies have. I've seen what drug use can do to people in jobs with that kind of access.
Everyone I know who voted for him is still cautiously optimistic. Government unions and pensions are not sustainable. There should be hazard pay for police and firefighters but it should be paid at the time either higher wages or contributions to 401k type plans. The taxpayers should not have to subsidize the rest of someones life just because they chose to work for the government. I don't think 65 year old cops should be working a beat but I also don't think taxpayers should pay a pension for someone to retire at 45 and then live till 85.
Me too - thats why I said drug test for cause. If you think someone is high at work - test em.
But someone who works everyday and is a good employee but does recreational drugs off the clock? I just cant get why I would want that person to be fired.
Everyone I know who voted for him is still cautiously optimistic. Government unions and pensions are not sustainable. There should be hazard pay for police and firefighters but it should be paid at the time either higher wages or contributions to 401k type plans. The taxpayers should not have to subsidize the rest of someones life just because they chose to work for the government. I don't think 65 year old cops should be working a beat but I also don't think taxpayers should pay a pension for someone to retire at 45 and then live till 85.
I'm sorry. You are going to lose this battle one way or another. The system can't continue as it is. You also have to understand that you surround yourself with people who are sympathetic to your cause. Just because everyone you know supports you doesn't mean that most taxpayers do. It means other firefighters and there families and friends do. Of course they do! LOL! Btw I am NOT a republican.
agreed that something needs to be done. In a down/struggling economy, everyone needs to make some sacrifices to make sure we get through it. While our elected officials are mulling over how much to cut from the pensions of teachers/police/etc, perhaps they should also look at their own pensions and begin there, since they seem to have a nice, super-cushy one for themselves.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/20/commentary/wastler/wastler/index.htm
Agreed. I didn't read the article so I don't know how they spin it but I believe in term limits and NO pensions for politicians since it shouldn't be a lifetime career to live off the taxpayers. Politicians should also have to wait five years before they can become lobbyists or have a member of their family as a lobbyist. THAT is really were all the money is at, let me get cozy with all these politicians then go to work for a company asking favors from all my old friends. That should be illegal as heck!
The reason they have them retire early is because that work is super hard on someones health and most will not live to 85....but what would everyone else do when cops and firefighters quit and do something else because they are not able to take care of their familys on low pay and no raises?
I'm for pretesting. Random, I'm not sure. I was in a job for seven years that required I be prepared for random testing. It was a pain. We lost some people because of it. Has the State of Florida had a drug scandal? What is the reason for this big, new policy?
While I'm all for random drug testing (if you don't have anything to hide, who cares), it must be expensive. We're cutting HUGE amounts from education but we can afford this? Doesn't make sense.
I thought politics was not allowed.
One of the country's largest drug manufacturers is offering a $1 million donation to help pay for a prescription database to combat Florida's illegal trade in painkillers. But with the future of the database now in doubt in Tallahassee, the state is not likely to accept the offer from the maker of OxyContin.
Gov. Rick Scott, who wants to do away with the database altogether, said he's not interested in the money.
Two years ago, the state Legislature overwhelmingly approved the creation of a statewide prescription drug monitoring program to try to curb an epidemic of drug overdoses and narcotics trafficking spawned by storefront pain clinics, most of them in South Florida. The database would allow physicians and investigators to identify "doctor shopping" patients who go from doctor to doctor to obtain prescriptions for potent painkillers such as oxycodone.
When lawmakers approved the prescription database in 2009, they set aside no state money for it. Instead, state officials established a private foundation to receive donations to cover the costs. Through December, the foundation had collected $500,000 in donations, while also qualifying for another $800,000 in federal grants.
But Scott and others in the state capital now want to kill the database, saying it's a needless intrusion on patients' privacy. Scott has already eliminated the office that was raising money for the database.
The threats from Tallahassee prompted Purdue Pharma — the maker of the well-known time-released painkiller containing oxycodone — to offer $1 million to help pay for the database. The money would cover the operating costs of the database for two years.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politi...oxycontin-maker-to-fund-drug-database/1156289