News Flash: Drug Testing

Virginia Menge, a school bus driver employed by the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, was placed on leave after allegedly failing a random urine drug test by testing positive for nitrate, a substance which can alter test results. The drug testing agency refused Menge’s request to have the urine sample retested. Menge then resigned, rather than attend a disciplinary hearing before the school board. But when the state Department of Motor Vehicles revoked her school bus driver’s certificate based on the test results, Menge argued that she should first have an opportunity to challenge the drug test. A California Court of Appeal agreed and held that the DMV could not revoke her state driving certificate without providing a prerevocation hearing.