Applicant Drug Testing: Wilkinson v. Times Mirror Corporation

The California Court of Appeal in San Francisco recently issued a decision which held that a private employer's drug testing of applicants for employment does not, in the circumstances of case, violate the California constitutional right of privacy. Wilkinson v. Times Mirror Corp., 254 Cal. Rptr. 194 (1989). Prior to Wilkinson, no California appellate court had ruled on the constitutionality under state law of drug testing by an employer. Wilkinson is a well-written opinion that is binding on lower courts throughout the San Francisco-Oakland area and significant portions of Northern California. The opinion is likely to be relied on by other appellate and lower courts throughout the state of California. The decision therefore provides important guidance to California employers who seek to implement applicant drug testing.

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