Opinion No. (1997)

DANIEL E. LUNGREN Attorney General ANTHONY Da VIGO Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE THOMAS W. SNEDDON, JR., DISTRICT ATTORNEY, COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA, has requested an opinion on the following questions: 1. May a district attorney order a deputy district attorney to submit to an individual suspicion-based drug test in the absence of a preestablished policy respecting such testing? 2. Would the establishment by a district attorney of a policy respecting individual suspicion-based drug testing of deputy district attorneys be the subject of mandatory collective bargaining negotiations? CONCLUSIONS 1. A district attorney may order a deputy district attorney to submit to an individual suspicion-based drug test in the absence of a preestablished policy respecting such testing. 2. The establishment by a district attorney of a policy respecting individual suspicion-based drug testing of deputy district attorneys would not be the subject of mandatory collective bargaining negotiations. ANALYSIS 1. Absence of Preestablished Policy The initial inquiry presented is whether a district attorney may require a deputy district attorney to submit to a test for the presence of a controlled or…