Scott Slows Down, But 'Moves Forward' With Drug Testing State Workers

In the face of a legal challenge from the ACLU of Florida over drug testing state workers, Gov. Rick Scott has slowed down the process for the implementation of the policy, but promised Thursday that he is still "moving forward" with the screenings.

In a memo to state agencies last week, Scott cited the ACLU lawsuit as a reason to slow down the implementation of the policy for all agencies. A memo from May asking agencies for a plan to adopt drug screenings for employees yielded one agency -- the Department of Corrections -- that was able to start right away. The DOC is the only agency that has been green-lighted by Scott to move ahead with its drug tests of employees, but due to the 60-day delay in the implementation process, the tests will not likely begin until next month.

"Every agency has to do it a little bit differently, so we decided to go forward with (DOC) first," Scott said.

Scott maintained that he doesn't think the ACLU lawsuit will stand up in court and he is on solid legal ground to test state workers.

"Look, the private sector does this all the time. Our taxpayers expect our state employees to be productive, and this is exactly what the private sector does. It's the right thing and we're going forward," Scott said.