One view of employee drug testing is that it is an innovative means of policing as part of a broader move to move social control policy toward an ideal of total surveillance and total crime prevention. While privacy and autonomy are obvious casualties of such a system, social control policy holds out the possibility of securing almost total compliance with the law in such problematic areas as drug use, welfare administration, and taxation. Another view of employee drug testing is less about testing than about political and legal battles over implementation. Drug testing in the workplace is discussed in relation to surveillance, hegemony, and the law. The social construction of the drug crisis is examined; consent and resistance in a unionized work force are considered; and constitutional issues associated with privacy, due process, and the fourth amendment are explored. Supplemental information on employee drug testing is provided in two appendixes. References, tables, and figures