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NYPD Cops Can Be Subjected to Drug Testing Without Collective Bargaining

The Police Commissioner of New York City may require NYPD officers to submit to drug testing of their hair without undergoing collective bargaining, New York’s highest court decided December 17, 2009.

The officers’ union had argued that the method chosen for drug testing or officers, whether it may be urinalysis or something else, was subject to the union’s collective bargaining agreement with the city.

New York’s Court of Appeals disagreed. “[T]he Police Commissioner’s disciplinary authority over the NYPD vests him with discretion to choose the scientific methodology to be used for drug testing, and the circumstances prompting testing” without collective bargaining, the court concluded. “The detection and deterrence of wrongdoing within the NYPD is a crucial component of the Police Commissioner’s responsibility to maintain discipline within the force,” the court wrote.

See: City of New York v. Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association of the City of New York, 2009 NY Slip Op 09314 [14 NY3d 46].

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Related legal case

City of New York v. Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association of the City of New York