Friedenberg v. School Board of Palm Beach County

257 F. Supp. 3d 1295
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJune 14, 2017
DocketCASE NO: 9:17-cv-80221-ROSENBERG/HOPKINS
StatusPublished

This text of 257 F. Supp. 3d 1295 (Friedenberg v. School Board of Palm Beach County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Friedenberg v. School Board of Palm Beach County, 257 F. Supp. 3d 1295 (S.D. Fla. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFls MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

ROBIN L. ROSENBERG, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

Plaintiff Joan Friedenberg applied for several positions with Defendant School Board of Palm Beach County. She was offered a substitute teacher position, but the offer was conditional. Before attending New Employee Orientation Plaintiff was required to take, and pass, a drug test. Drug testing is imposed on all applicants for any position with Defendant pursuant to Policy 3.96(8)(a). Plaintiff refused testing and brought suit, challenging the application of Policy 3.96(8)(a) to applicants for non-safety sensitive positions on Fourth Amendmént grounds.1

This cause is before the Court on Plaintiffs Motion for Temporary Restraining Order or, in the Alternative, for Preliminary Injunction. DE 5. Plaintiff seeks to enjoin the application of Policy 3.96(8)(a) tó applicants for non-safety sensitive positions with Defendant. Plaintiffs Motion is fully briefed, DE 22, 23, and the Court has heard argument thereon, DE 51. The Court has only considered the application of Policy 3.96(8)(a) to applicants for substitute teacher positions because of standing concerns outlined in Section 11(b). With that caveat in mind, Plaintiffs Motion is DENIED for the reasons that follow.

I. FINDINGS OF FACT

a. The Application Process.2

Defendant Palm Beach County School District .is the eleventh largest school dis[1299]*1299trict in the country. DE 55-4 at 14. Applicants for jobs with Defendant must, first, complete the District Application. DE 22-2 at ¶ 6(b). Applicants who meet the “minimum qualifications” may be invited for an in-person interview. Id. at ¶ 6(c). Substitute teachers “are not interviewed,” but otherwise “follow the same screening process as all other employees.” Id. After the interview process (if applicable) is complete, each applicant’s references are reviewed and his or her current or most recent supervisor is contacted by,phone. Id. at ¶ 6(d). Upon a successful reference check, a conditional offer letter is sént. Id. at ¶ 6(e). Each applicant who receives á conditional offer “is required to complete a criminal background check (fingerprinting) and a drug screening.” Id. at ¶ 6(f). Only after completing these two requirements can the applicant attend New Employee Orientation, which is a full day of training. Id. at ¶ 6(g). The drug testing requirement is not imposed until after receipt of a conditional offer. DE 38-1 at 37:10-20. Some employees, including school police officers and environmental technicians, are required to complete an overall physical as part of the pre-employment screening process. See DE 55-4 at 2. An overall physical is not required of substitute teachers. Id.

Plaintiff Joan Friedenberg is a retired educator. DE 55-1' at ¶ 2. She applied online for three different positions with Defendant: substitute teacher,3 tutor,4 and early childhood aid.5 Id. at ¶¶ 4-5. Every application Plaintiff completed required her to “check a box” indicating that she would be drug tested. Id. at ¶ 6. Plaintiff received a conditional offer to work for Defendant as a substitute teacher on February 21, 2017. Id. at ¶ 11. This was the only conditional offer Plaintiff received. Hearing Trans. 79:15-19. The offer was conditioned on Plaintiffs being fingerprinted and submitting to a drug test before her New Employee Orientation, which was scheduled for Monday, February 27, 2017 at 9:00am. DE 55-1 at ¶ 11. Plaintiff underwent fingerprinting, but refused to submit to a drug test. Id.

b. The Drug Testing Requirement Imposed Under Policy 3.96(8)(a).

Policy 3.96 is entitled “Drug and Alcohol-Free Workplace.”6 Policy 3.96 has many provisions, but only Section 8(a), which requires suspicionless drug testing of all applicants for any position with Defendant, is being challenged. Section 8(a) provides:

8. Kinds of Testing — Random testing of employées shall not be conducted, except for those employees subject to Policy 3.961. To maintain a drug-free work environment, the District will test for the presence of drugs, including alcohol, in the following circumstances:
a. Pre-Employment Screening — Pre-employment screening will be required of all applicants before employment with the District. Any applicant who tests positive in the pre-employment screening for a drug as defined in this Policy will not be hired and is not eligible to re-apply for employment with the District for one year following the [1300]*1300confirmed positive test. Similarly, a person applying to be a volunteer may be subject to pre-service screening in some cases, based upon whether the volunteer applicant has a known history of substance abuse, alcohol, or other drug-related problems.

DE 55-2 at 4. ’

There is an additional caveat. Policy 3.96(8)(a) is only being challenged as applied to applicants for non-safety sensitive positions. See DE 5 at 5. In response to a request by the Court, Plaintiff clarified that she was using the term non-safety sensitive to refer to all positions with Defendant except: (i) Jobs categorized as “safety sensitive” by Defendant pursuant to Policy 3.961; Driver Bus Substitute, Pool Life Guard, Temp Driver Trainee Bus, Driver School Bus I, and Driver School Bus II; and Temp Midnight Shift Supervisor, Officer School Police, Captain School Police, Director School Police, and Major School Police. See DE 34 at 1-2.

Drug testing is conducted in conformity with the standards set forth in Florida Administrative Code 59A-24.005. See DE 38-1 at 38:22-24; DE 22^ at ¶15. In relevant part, the Code imposes the following procedures: Upon arrival at the collection site, the donor’s photo identification is requested. Fla. Admin. Code R. 59A-24.005(3)(c)(2). If the donor does not have proper photo identification, a call is placed to the employer who can positively identify the donor. Id. The donor must also provide either a chain of custody form or a letter from the employer authorizing the drug test. Id. at 59A-24.005(3)(c)(3). A chain of custody form must be completed for each donor. Id. at 59A-24.005(2)(a). The donor is asked to list any medication he or she is currently taking on the chain of custody form. DE 38-1 at 41:11-16. If there is a positive result, this list is used to determine whether it was caused by the use of lawful medications. The chain of custody form “shall contain no information which can be traceable to the donor except the unique identifier, the employee identification number, if used, and the laboratory’s specimen number.” Fla. Admin. Code R. 59A-24.005(2)(f). Ms. Linda King, who serves as Risk and Safety Manager, testified that only “the testing collection area, the [medical review officer], and the [donor]” see the form. DE 38-1 at 42:1-5.

The donor is instructed to wash and dry his or her hands and, after doing so, he or she must “remain in the presence of the collection site person.” Fla. Admin. Code R. 59A-24.005(3)(c)(6). “The individual may provide his or her urine specimen in a stall or otherwise partitioned enclosure that allows for individual privacy.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United Teachers v. Orleans Parish School Board
142 F.3d 853 (Fifth Circuit, 1998)
Harry Palmer v. Eldon Braun
287 F.3d 1325 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
Delaware v. Prouse
440 U.S. 648 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Allen v. Wright
468 U.S. 737 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Griffin v. Wisconsin
483 U.S. 868 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Assn.
489 U.S. 602 (Supreme Court, 1989)
National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab
489 U.S. 656 (Supreme Court, 1989)
FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas
493 U.S. 215 (Supreme Court, 1990)
Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife
504 U.S. 555 (Supreme Court, 1992)
Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America
511 U.S. 375 (Supreme Court, 1994)
Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton
515 U.S. 646 (Supreme Court, 1995)
United States v. Hays
515 U.S. 737 (Supreme Court, 1995)
Chandler v. Miller
520 U.S. 305 (Supreme Court, 1997)
National Treasury Employees Union v. Raab
816 F.2d 170 (Fifth Circuit, 1987)
Jennifer Keeton v. Mary Jane Anderson-Wiley
664 F.3d 865 (Eleventh Circuit, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
257 F. Supp. 3d 1295, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/friedenberg-v-school-board-of-palm-beach-county-flsd-2017.