Texas is taking a hard line on employees who do drugs. The Texas Legislature has approved a proposal that would enjoin employees who have lost their jobs to pass a drug screening before they can collect unemployment.
In Texas, employers are required to have insurance policies for laid-off workers that make weekly payments between payments of $62 to $440. If the worker is fired for cause, including failing a drug test, he/she cannot collect payment.
The new proposal states that laid-off workers who give suspicious answers to state questionnaires would be required to take drug tests, and if they fail, they would lose the benefits.
There is partisan difference over the proposal; Republican State Sen. Tommy Williams supports it, stating that it will keep the workforce in Texas successful, while Democrats have blocked another bill requiring drug testing for welfare recipients.