Sheriff's Department, union talk about random drug testing
BY RACHEL COOK Californian staff writer rcook@bakersfield.com
The Kern County Sheriff's Department and the union that represents deputies are on the cusp of developing a random drug testing policy.
Sheriff Donny Youngblood and Kern Law Enforcement Association president Marc Haiungs both said they would support a random drug testing policy.
"We don't have anything to hide from the public," Haiungs said. "We want to be as transparent as possible."
While they are on the same page about random testing, the two men appeared Tuesday to be at different steps toward creating a proposal. Haiungs said the association is waiting for a proposed policy from the sheriff's department, while Youngblood said he had not heard that the union is waiting on the department for a proposed policy.
However, Youngblood said something could be in the works within the department that hasn't been brought to his attention yet.
Youngblood stressed that he does not have the "the ability and the power" to mandate random drug testing. While such a policy may be developing, Haiungs said it will take some time and review before any policy is sent to the union's membership for a vote.
The union president said he brought up the topic of random testing at the association's January board meeting to a favorable response.
"A majority of the board is in favor of random drug testing for illicit substances," Haiungs said, adding that he suspects most members would support it too.
"We don't want anybody who's using illegal drugs working side by side with us," he said. "To me it doesn't seem like it's going to be a difficult program or policy to implement."
Haiungs said he and several of the union's leaders met with the department's Human Resources commander after the board's January meeting.
"We've indicated to the department that we would not be opposed to that type of policy," Haiungs said.
While the particulars of a proposal have yet to be determined, Youngblood and Haiungs agreed on two points that have concerned some union members: making sure testing is truly random and that it doesn't try to root out legal prescription drug use.
Haiungs said testing would have to be random to avoid turning it into a tool that a disgruntled supervisor could use to harass an employee. Youngblood seconded that.
"We have to design a mechanism where everyone's name is in the hat, including the sheriff," Youngblood said.
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