Is it legal to be strip searched at your place of employment without a warrent?

I am a nurse, two days ago, a pain patch was reported missing on a floor that I don't work on. The director of nursing called the police. Everyone that worked on that floor that day, were told that they could not leave. They were strip searched, & made to give urine samples. Is it not some kind of a violation of rights to be strip searched without a warrent?

Wow. So many highly opinionated answers, and so little information upon which to base them.

First of all, perhaps it's just the way you wrote your question, but since you work on a different floor, how do *you* know ANY of this is true?

Second, what state/country are you in? It might very well matter.

A few other questions, if you're going to stand a chance of getting an intelligent answer that doesn't involve someone talking about the Patriot Act:

You said the Director of Nursing called the police. Did they come? What did they do?

Who told the people on that floor they could not leave? How was that enforced, if it was?

Who ordered the strip search, and what do you mean by strip search? It has a specific legal definition and you may not be talking about what's considered a strip search under the law. Were people actually required to remove or arrange some or all of their clothing so as to permit a visual inspection of the underclothing, breasts, buttocks, or genitalia? (California's definition of a strip search)

I'll talk about what I can talk about based on California law:

As for your question (can you be legally strip searched at your place of employment without a warrant?); it's almost not possible to answer you. Strip searches in California do not require a warrant, but they are subject to a number of requirements, chief among them being that you are in custody. I cannot imagine a situation where an entire floor of nurses (whether that be five or fifty) could have been arrested for this and therefore strip searched.

I don't know...I could probably go on, but I think there's just not enough information to give you a decent answer. Strip searching, detaining employees, urine testing and the like might not have been out of line depending on agreements with your employer and who conducted them (I can't imagine the police in the US would have done such a thing without an awful lot more info than this) and whether in fact they were even done (you did say you work on another floor, so I have to assume you got this info second hand and perhaps a little exaggerated).

Post some more info, I'd love to know more about this.

I would think it would be illegal. But I'm not a lawyer.

NO!!!!!

depends where you live. it is here as far as i last heard.

I think you have grounds for legal remedy. Of course its a violation.

it sounds illegal. But check your employment contract it may have tiny printing that you signed off on. You should contact Human Resources to see if this was legal.

Unless your employer has made it part of your employment contract or it is a posted rule that anyone in a certain area can be searched.

You have the right to refuse, of course they have the right to suspect you as the guilty party also.

They do normally have the right to require a drug test.

You could have refused. And then you would have been detained until they got a warrent and searched you anyway. You also could have been fired for refusing - perfectly legally.

Are you sure that the police didn't have a warrant, usually they do? That would be the only reason for conducting such a search. Since it was a pain patch, the reason that you were stripped searched, was to see if it was stuck any place on the body. The urine, as you probably already know, is to detect the presence of the drugs from the patch.

Also, if they didn't have a warrant, they could request search and take a urine sample, which is not illegal. However, if you put up a fight and decide not to donate, it does not look good for you in the eyes of the police.

No, it is not legal. By law it is necessary for the police to obtain a warrant before doing anything this drastic. Of course the police have dirty tactics to convince the citizens that the can search anyway. No it is not legal, but they get away with this all the time!

this is very illegal. you have the right to physical privacy unless ordered by the court and then there must be grounds to do so.......can you say LAW SUIT! If you voluntarily allowed this such then you still have a case of for forceful containment or holding without arrest and invasion of privacy. you could have given a statement to the police, allowed them to search your purse or bag and then left. Plus this should have been handled by the floor administrator and the hospital chief of staff. whom ever signed out the meds is responsible...

Gees e peezeee whats next a colonoscopy? Thats offensive! What are they going to be able to tell from urinalysis. that somebody smuggled a pain patch ? only if they were using it. Right, so if some miscellaneous person did indeed abscond with it if they sold it on the black market there would still be no proof. How ridiculous. It couldn't possibly be missplaced. Some how somebody didn't follow protocol. As for being detained without charges the police must conduct their investigation within a reasonable amount of time. Unless they place you under arrest I don't beleive it is with in their power to macke you submit. you should have demanded to see a lawyer. and told them to get a warrant. It sounds more like some administrator with a vendetta and self serving human resources people.

Since the passage of the so-called Patriot Act, which is really the Traitor's Act, Americans have no rights anymore anyway. We have allowed ourselves to become slaves in what was once our own country. America is now THE LAND OF THE SLAVES AND THE HOME OF THE COWARDS, who no longer demand their rights as free men and women.

I assume these people are members of a union. Why haven't they filed a grievance with their shop steward? Certainly this should be looked into and that's a good place to start. If there is no union, file a complaint with the Board or Organization that oversees Unfair Labor Practices in your city or state, or your Human Rights Commissioner. Don't let this slide. Your floor might be next. Get together on this with other staff members right now and make some plans on how to deal with this. If nothing else, get a delegation together to speak to the administration of your hospital about holding a staff meeting where you can air your collective feelings and opinions on this, and go on from there.

no it is not legal

Just to clarify, strip searches are almost never legal. If they are, they must be performed by the gender of that person. Warrants must be given to each individual.

with probal cause. it is very legal ? yes they can do this ???