Nat'l Fed'n of Fed. Employees–iam v. Vilsack, Civil Action No. 10–1735 (BAH).

• Citation: 775 F.Supp.2d 91
• Decision Date: 06 April 2011
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 10–1735 (BAH).
• Parties: NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES–IAM, Plaintiff,v.Thomas J. VILSACK, in his official capacity as Secretary of Agriculture, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

775 F.Supp.2d 91

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES–IAM, Plaintiff,

v.Thomas J. VILSACK, in his official capacity as Secretary of Agriculture, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 10–1735 (BAH).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

April 6, 2011.

Stefan P. Sutich, National Federation of Federal Employees, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.W. Scott Simpson, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

BERYL A. HOWELL, District Judge.

In this case, a union representing federal employees challenges the constitutionality under the Fourth Amendment of a U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) policy expanding random drug testing to incumbent employees who work with at-risk youth in residential Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (“JCCCC”). These centers are located in remote or rural areas within the National Forest System, and are operated by the U.S. Forest Service (“USFS”), an agency of the USDA. The plaintiff National Federation of Federal Employees, Federal District 1–IAM (“NFFE”), which represents certain USFS employees covered by the new policy, alleges that the random drug testing policy violates the Fourth Amendment because it is overbroad and designates employees for random drug testing who have no critical connection to safety or other compelling governmental interests. Compl. ¶ 14.

Presently before the Court is the plaintiff's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction to enjoin random drug testing of USFS employees at JCCCCs; and defendants USDA and USFS's Motion to Dismiss, or, in the alternative, for Summary Judgment. After review of the memoranda filed in support and opposition to the parties' motions, the accompanying declarations and applicable law, for the reasons set forth below, the Court hereby DENIES defendants' motion to dismiss the Complaint, GRANTS defendants' motion for summary judgment, and DENIES plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is a labor union that represents approximately 15,000 U.S. Forest Service employees, including those who work at approximately nineteen Jobs Corps Centers operated by the USFS. Pl.'s Opp. to Defs' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 1, Larry King Decl. (hereinafter “Pl.'s King Decl.”), ¶¶ 2, 5; Compl. ¶ 1 (Factual Background). Jobs Corps Centers are vocational training programs administered by the Department of Labor for economically disadvantaged youth aged 16 to 24. Defs' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 1, Larry Dawson Decl. (hereinafter “Defs' Dawson Decl.”), ¶ 3. Jobs Corps Centers serve more than 60,000 students at 124 centers across the country, and are intended to offer an environment in which students “obtain the education and vocational skills necessary to become productive and employable.” Id. at ¶¶ 3–4. The case currently before the Court does not pertain to all Job Corps Centers, but only those operated and staffed by USFS employees.

A. Job Corps Students Generally

By statute, students admitted into Jobs Corps programs must be economically disadvantaged, and “(1) basic skills deficient; (2) a school dropout; (3) homeless, a runaway, or a foster child; (4) a parent; [or] (5) an individual who requires additional education, vocational training, or intensive counseling and related assistance, in order to participate successfully in regular schoolwork or to secure and hold employment.” 29 U.S.C. § 2884. The defendants relay that many students are “from inner cities and were previously members of street gangs,” that the program is their “last chance,” providing “many students with an opportunity to significantly change their lives.” Defs' Dawson Decl., ¶ 4.

Jobs Corps Centers are primarily directed toward disadvantaged, at-risk, or troubled youth and enforce a strict “zero tolerance” drug policy. Id. at ¶ 8. Students submit to drug testing upon entering the program, and must enroll in an anti-drug program if they test positive. Id. Despite knowing that they will be tested, approximately 26 percent of enrolling students nonetheless test positive for drug use. Id. at ¶ 7. To advance the Jobs Corps' drug-free policy, Jobs Corps staff members are required to monitor students for possible drug use and conduct periodic inspections of students' personal belongings. Id. Such inspections have included the use of canine units (drug dogs), and involve searches of personal lockers and living spaces. See Defs' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 2, Linda J. Guzik Decl. (hereinafter “Defs' Guzik Decl.”), ¶¶ 8–10; Defs' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 3, Raymond J. Ryan Decl. (hereinafter “Defs' Ryan Decl.”), ¶¶ 6–7; Defs' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 4, Cynthia S. Kopack Decl. (hereinafter “Defs' Kopack Decl.”), ¶¶ 7–9. Any Jobs Corps staff member, who suspects a violation of the drug policy, can order a student to submit to further testing. Defs' Dawson Decl., ¶¶ 8–9. After two positive tests for drug use, students are dismissed from the program. Id.

B. Jobs Corps Civilian Conservation Centers

By agreement between the U.S. Department of Labor (hereinafter “DOL”) and the USDA, the USFS operates twenty-eight JCCCCs. These centers educate 6,200 students and are located in remote, rural sites within the National Forest System. Id. at ¶¶ 3, 5; see, e.g., Defs' Guzik Decl., ¶ 17 (closest trauma center to Trapper Creek JCCCC is 75 miles away); Defs' Ryan Decl., ¶ 13 (closest trauma center to Anaconda JCCCC is 97 miles away); Defs' Kopack Decl., ¶ 17 (closest trauma center to Cass JCCCC is 137 miles away); 29 U.S.C. § 2887(c)(1); 36 C.F.R. § 200.3(b). All JCCCCs are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and provide a residential program where students live and work. Defs' Dawson Decl., ¶ 6. Students at these sites are prohibited from bringing personal vehicles and therefore rely on JCCCC staff for transportation. See id. at ¶ 6.

The JCCCCs are staffed by USFS employees and contracted workers, some but not all of whom also reside at the centers with the students. Defs' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 5, Larry Dawson Supplemental Decl. (“hereinafter Defs' Dawson Suppl. Decl.”), ¶¶ 4, 7. The JCCCC staff are responsible for teaching, mentoring, and monitoring students admitted into the Jobs Corps program, as well as for the administrative operations of the centers. See Pl.'s Opp. to Defs' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 25, Lance Hamann Supplemental Decl. (hereinafter “Pl.'s Hamann Suppl. Decl.”), ¶¶ 5–13; Pl.'s Opp. to Defs' Mot. Summ. J., Exs. 9–20, 22, Job Descriptions of JCCCC Employees. JCCCC employees fill many occupational positions, including teachers, guidance counselors, training instructors, laundry machine operators, file clerks, computer assistants, purchasing agents, and cooks. See Pl.'s Opp. to Defs' Mot. Summ. J., Exs. 9–20, 22, Job Descriptions of JCCCC employees. No matter the position, all JCCCC staff members undergo pre-employment background investigations, which are “more rigorous” than the background checks undertaken for most other non-JCCCC USFS employees, and also undergo periodic background reinvestigations. Defs' Dawson Decl., ¶ 12; Defs' Dawson Suppl. Decl., ¶ 5. JCCCC employees are subject to the background check protocol that the USDA designed in 1993 for employees that “supervise young people.” Defs' Dawson Decl., ¶ 12 (all JCCCC employees are subject to a “Child Care National Agency Check with Inquires: Non Sensitive/Low Risk,” and some are subject to “Moderate Risk Background Investigation: Moderate Risk/Public Trust”).

Aside from nurses and those who hold commercial driver's licenses, JCCCC employees have not previously been subject to suspicion-less drug testing during employment. Pl.'s King Decl., ¶ 16. The defendants allege that at least eight JCCCC staff members have been disciplined for drug violations in recent years. Defs' Dawson Decl., at ¶ 17.

While the positions and specific duties of each employee differ, the defendants contend that all employees are responsible for the safety of the JCCCC students. Id. at ¶¶ 13–16; Defs' Guzik Decl., ¶ 18; Defs' Ryan Decl., ¶ 14; Defs' Kopack Decl., ¶ 18. All employees are trained in CPR and First Aid within 90 days of employment, and applicable regulations require staff members to hold driver's licenses so that they can be available to transport students to work sites, airports, medical appointments, for personal errands, or to help evacuate the centers in cases of emergency. Pl.'s Opp. to Defs' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 8, USDA Dep't Regulation No. 4430–792–2, Drug Free Workplace Program, Aug. 25, 2003 (hereinafter “USDA Drug Testing Regulation”), at A–7 (“ Each staff member is required to possess a valid driver's license to transport students in case of emergency, to and from work sites, etc.”) (emphasis added); ¹ Defs' Guzik Decl., ¶ 16; Defs' Ryan Decl., ¶ 12; Defs' Kopack Decl., ¶ 16. Although some JCCCC employees rarely undertake such tasks, given the centers' remote locations and residential setting, all staff may be required to respond in an emergency situation and transport and care for students. Defs' Dawson Decl., ¶¶ 14–16; Defs' Guzik Decl., ¶¶ 17–19; Defs' Ryan Decl., ¶¶ 13–15; Defs' Kopack Decl., ¶¶ 17–19; see also Pl.'s Opp. to Defs' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 6, Jerry D. Case Decl. (hereinafter “Pl.'s Case Decl.”), ¶ 5 (“I may have provided minor First Aid to students or other staff but do not have specific recollections”).

Furthermore, some employees teach students vocational skills, such as welding and electrical work, which require use of plasma cutters and welding arcs, activities that pose inherent risks to the safety of students and require a drug-free environment for both teachers and students. Defs' Guzik Decl., ¶¶ 20–22; Defs' Ryan Decl., ¶ 16; Defs' Kopack Decl., ¶ 20.

In addition to ensuring student safety, the defendants contend that all JCCCC staff members are responsible for “(1) modeling appropriate behavior for students; (2) mentoring students toward responsible behavior; and (3) monitoring student behavior, including the possibility of drug use by a student.” Defs'...