The American Civil Liberties Union won a court injunction temporarily halting a Michigan law that orders mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients.
The ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit against the Family Independence Agency, which administers welfare in Michigan, on Sept. 30 and filed for the temporary restraining order this Monday. U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts ruled on Wednesday in the plaintiff’s favor, issuing the temporary restraining order stating that requiring tests without suspicion “is likely unconstitutional.”
“Michigan’s policy is the first that opens the door to forcing drug testing on the entire population,” said Graham Boyd, Esq., of the ACLU Drug Policy Litigation Project. “By drug testing those who get welfare, it is a short step to testing everyone who applies for a government benefit.”
A hearing is scheduled on Dec. 14 to hear arguments on whether to grant class-action status and a preliminary injunction against the testing program.
For more information, please contact Graham Boyd, Esq., at (203) 668-6112 or Kary Moss, Executive Director of ACLU of Michigan at (313) 961-7728. To view the ACLU’s complaint against the Family Independence Agency please go to http://www.aclumich.org/briefs/welf930.htm
