United States v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc.

Facts

The complex facts underlying this case are well summed up in the panel’s opinion and dissent, and we refer the interested reader there for additional information. United States v. Com- prehensive Drug Testing, Inc., 513 F.3d 1085 (9th Cir. 2008). We reiterate here only the key facts.

In 2002, the federal government commenced an investiga- tion into the Bay Area Lab Cooperative (Balco), which it sus- pected of providing steroids to professional baseball players. 11868 UNITED STATES v. COMPREHENSIVE DRUG TESTING, INC. That year, the Major League Baseball Players Association also entered into a collective bargaining agreement with Major League Baseball providing for suspicionless drug test- ing of all players. Urine samples were to be collected during the first year of the agreement and each sample was to be tested for banned substances. The players were assured that the results would remain anonymous and confidential; the purpose of the testing was solely to determine whether more than five percent of players tested positive, in which case there would be additional testing in future seasons.

Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc. (CDT), an independent business, administered the…