CITY OF
ADMINISTRATIVE
POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL
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SUBJECT: : DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE - Procedure
DATE ISSUED: :
SECTION: : D
REFERENCE: : US DOT (FTA) 49 CFR Part 40;
49
CFR Part 655;
49 CFR Part 382;
49
CFR Part 29;
Drug
Free Workplace Act of 1988;
Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990;
The
Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
Rules
for Personnel Administration;
SECTION 1: PURPOSE
The purpose of this procedure is to provide
guidance to employees, supervisors, and managers in the recognition of
drug/alcohol abuse by employees, and of the process by which to address the
issues raised by such use.
SECTION 2: SUPPORT
SERVICES/EDUCATION /TRAINING
All employees may receive educational information
and training regarding the detection and deterrence associated with the use of
illegal drugs and alcohol use. Safety
Sensitive employees may receive training annually. For immediate support and guidance employees
may contact:
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SAMHSA’S Center
for Substance Abuse Treatment |
1-800-662-HELP
(4357) |
All |
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Employee
Assistance Program Substance
Abuse Professional |
(209)
333-6704 |
Please
contact Human Resources for additional
information |
SECTION 3: REASONABLE SUSPICION
Reasonable Suspicion is cause based on subjective
evidence and objective facts sufficient to lead a reasonably prudent supervisor
to suspect that an employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol to the
degree the employee's ability to perform the functions of the job is impaired
or so that the employee's ability to perform his/her job safely is reduced.
It is the responsibility of the supervisor to gather
specific facts and rational inferences from these facts which warrant reasonable
suspicion that the particular employee is under the influence of drugs or
alcohol. Co-workers have the
responsibility to notify supervisors or Human Resources immediately to report suspicious
behavior. In all cases of suspicion of drug/alcohol abuse, all procedures shall
be conducted under the auspices of the Human Resources Division.
Reasonable suspicion may be established by, but
not limited to any of the following:
A. Slurred speech;
B. Alcohol odor on breath;
C. Unsteady walking and
movement;
D. An accident involving
City property;
E. Physical or verbal
altercation;
F. Declining work
performance;
G. Possession of alcohol or
unauthorized drugs;
H. Information
from a co-worker, City employee, or member of the public regarding an
employee's
performance level.
These are not the sole indicators for determining
reasonable suspicion. The number of
reasonable suspicion indicators and amount of evidence supporting each
indicator will determine whether there is reasonable suspicion to search or
compel a test. Consequently, any one
indicator above or in combination with other indicators will not necessarily
always indicate reasonable suspicion.
Each situation will have to be individually examined, obtaining as much
evidence of impairment as possible.
SECTION 4: SUPERVISORY
RESPONSIBILITIES
Supervisors must distinguish between deficient
employee behaviors that are ongoing or repeated in nature, and those that
present immediate indication of drug/alcohol influence.
A. Ongoing
Behavior:
A supervisor observing an employee demonstrating
the above indicators and/or exhibiting ongoing behavior which could cause
reasonable suspicion of drug/alcohol abuse shall contact the Human Resources
Division immediately and may:
1. Counsel the employee regarding areas of
declining work performance and recommend the employee utilize the Employee
Assistance Program for intervention and rehabilitation.
2. Document the behavior which has given rise to
the suspicion of substance abuse;
3. Inform the appropriate higher level
supervisor/manager of the supervisor's observations, interventions, and if
applicable, intent to recommend substance abuse testing.
Drug/alcohol testing is used as a last resort
after an employee refuses an EAP referral or EAP recommendations are
rejected.
After a supervisor has received training on drug/alcohol
abuse testing and referral, and taken all measures outlined above, he/she may
direct an employee to take a test in accordance with the procedures outlined in
Attachment A.
B. Immediate
Presentation of Indicators:
Supervisors may request an employee to submit to
a drug /alcohol testing when there is a reasonable suspicion that an employee
is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. When there is reasonable suspicion
that an employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the supervisor is
required to prevent the employee from engaging in further work and advise the employee to remain at the work site until
transportation arrangements can be made.
Such employee shall be transported to the appropriate
physician/laboratory for drug/alcohol testing by his/her most available
supervisor. Upon completion of the
sample collection, transportation to the employee's residence shall be provided
by the supervisor or a member of the employee's family. Employees who insist on driving and who may
be under the influence of drugs or alcohol are subject to arrest by a peace
officer.
Employees will not be permitted to work until the
results of the test have been determined.
Upon receipt of the laboratory analysis results, employees will be
notified. If a test result is positive,
the time the employee was absent from work between the specimen collection and
notification of results shall be unpaid.
If the test result is negative, then the interim time period shall be
considered administrative leave with pay.
Supervisors requesting an employee to submit to a
drug/alcohol test shall document, in writing within 24 hours, the facts
constituting reasonable suspicion that the employee is intoxicated or under the
influence of drugs.
The City may search, without employee consent,
all areas and property in which the City maintains control or joint control
with the employee including, but not limited to, City vehicles, desks, containers,
files, lockers and storage facilities.
Whenever possible, prior to a search for drugs or alcohol, an attempt
shall be made to contact the employee at work or at home to allow the employee
to be present during the search. When it
is not possible reach the employee or the employee is not present within a
reasonable period of time (i.e. not later than 45 minutes), the search shall be
conducted by a minimum of two people - the supervisor conducting the search and
an observer such as a second supervisor, a law enforcement officer or a neutral
observer. For Police Officers, searches
of lockers or an assigned storage space shall be conducted as provided by
Government Code Section 3309. Otherwise
the City may notify the appropriate law enforcement agency that an employee may
have illegal drugs in his/her possession or in an area not jointly or fully
controlled by the City.
Supervisors shall not physically search the
person of employees, nor shall they search the personal possessions of
employees. Supervisors shall notify the
appropriate Department Head or designee when they have reasonable suspicion
that an employee may have illegal drugs or alcohol in his or her possession,
including areas such as parking areas, break rooms, etc. If the Department Head or designee concurs
that there is reasonable suspicion of possession, then he/she may notify the
appropriate law enforcement agency.
SECTION 5: CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCE (DRUGS) AND/OR ALCOHOL TESTING OF EMPLOYEES
There shall be no random
or general testing except as required by federal and/or state law. The
City of
An employee may be asked to submit to a urine
test to determine the use and/or presence of controlled substances. Alcohol
testing shall be conducted by using an evidential breath testing device.
Should an employee be directed to undergo
drug/alcohol testing the following provisions shall apply:
A. All
testing shall be performed by a National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)
certified facility, determined by the City.
B. The initial testing shall use the
radioimmunoassay (RIA) screening process. If the results are positive, the
results will confirmed by the gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS)
method.
C.
Alcohol testing is only
permitted just before, during, and just after the performance of
safety-sensitive duties.
D.
If the
initial test result is positive and the confirmation test result is negative,
the overall screening is considered negative.
E. In the
event of a positive result, the specimen shall be retained and preserved by the
laboratory for a minimum of one year. If during this period the employee
requests, the specimen will be forwarded to another laboratory for independent
testing. The cost of this additional
handling and testing shall be borne by the employee.
F. If
the employee tests positive for a substance(s) with a medically recognized
usage as a prescription drug without having disclosed such usage before the
test, the employee shall be given the opportunity to produce a prescription for
the drug or a physician's (or dentist's) statement relative to the need for
such a drug. The said prescription must
be dated before the date of the drug screen.
G. In
the case of marijuana, the level of the positive test is set high enough to
exclude people who have had a casual encounter with the drug, such as being in
a room where it is smoked by someone else.
A test threshold (NG/ML) for THC - the active substance in marijuana -
is used as cutoff, which ensures that someone who registers positive has indeed
ingested such a substantial amount of that drug that it precludes inadvertent
exposure.
H. The
results of the drug screening shall be reviewed by a Medical Review Officer
(MRO) for interpretation and validation.
The medical provider shall inform the employee and Human Resources of
the results of the screening.
* Testing is based on DOT minimum thresholds in
49 CFR Part 40.
SECTION 6: CONFIDENTIALITY
Specific treatment services provided by the SAP and/or
EAP provider are confidential and are not released without the employee's
authorization. Specific information
shared with SAP or EAP staff is confidential unless required by law for child
abuse or threats of bodily harm.
Laboratory reports or test results shall be
maintained by the medical provider. Any
written records of the test results shall not be placed in an employee's
personnel file, but shall be maintained in a separate confidential file unless
used to support a disciplinary action.
The confidential file shall be maintained by the Human Resources
Division. The reports or test results may be disclosed to City management
and/or supervisory staff on a strictly need-to-know basis and to the tested
employee upon request. Disclosures,
without the employee's consent, may also occur when the information:
A. requires immediate
contact to the employee
B. is
compelled by law or by judicial or administrative process;
B. has
been placed at issue in a formal dispute between the City of
employee;
C. is
needed by medical personnel for the diagnosis or treatment of the patient who
is
unable to authorize disclosure.
As an employer the City is required to verify previous violations of DOT drug and alcohol regulations within the last two years of employment with DOT regulated agency or employer. Former employees seeking employment with another DOT regulated agency shall authorize the City in writing to provide the required drug and alcohol testing information to that agency.
An employer must obtain and review the information listed below from any DOT-regulated employer the employee performed safety-sensitive functions for in the previous two years. The information must be obtained and reviewed prior to the first time an employee performs safety-sensitive functions. The information obtained must include:
1. Information of the employee’s alcohol test in which a breath alcohol
concentration of 0.04 or greater was indicated.
2. Information of the employee’s controlled substance test in which a positive
result was indicated.
3. Any refusal to submit to a required alcohol or controlled substance test.
(including verified adulterated or substituted drug test results)
4. Other violations of DOT agency drug and alcohol testing regulations.
SPECIMEN COLLECTION PROCEDURE
When an individual is directed by the City to the
medical provider for drug/alcohol screening, the following procedure is
observed:
1. The screening procedure is explained to
the individual and any questions answered by the medical provider.
2. The individual is asked to provide all
pertinent information to the medical provider and sign a waiver authorizing
release of the results to the City of
3. The medical provider conducts the
screening in a manner so as to prevent tampering and ensure
confidentiality. Such procedure shall
include, but not be limited to identification verification, removal of all
unnecessary garments and bags prior to collection, washing hands, and
temperature testing.
4. The specimen shall be sealed, labeled,
and initialed by the medical provider and the employee, without the container
leaving the employee's presence.
5. An employee will be selected at random
each quarterly draw to complete a portion of a Collection Audit Checklist form
with Human Resources.
COLLECTION AUDIT CHECKLIST
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BASIC INFORMATION |
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Step-1 Verify that collectors are trained and
certified |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-2 Verify that collectors have proof of
Proficiency demonstration |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Each collector must demonstrate
proficiency in collections under this part by completing five consecutive
error free mock collections. The five mock collections must include two
uneventful collection scenarios, one insufficient quantity of urine scenario,
one temperature out of range scenario, and one scenario in which the employee
refuses to sign the CCF and initial the specimen bottle tamper evident seal. |
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Step-3 Does the clinic know who to contact at
the division? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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An employer must provide to
collectors the name and telephone number of appropriate DER to contact about
any problems or issues that may arise during the testing process. |
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PREPARATION OF RESTROOM |
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Step-1 Did the collector properly secure all
water sources and add bluing agent to the toilet? |
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Step-2 Did the collector ensure that there are no
foreign substances/items in the restroom
prior to allowing the donor to go inside restroom? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-3 Did the collector explain the basic
procedures to the donor or show the donor the instructions
on the back of the CCF? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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COLLECTION OF URINE SAMPLE |
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Step-1 Did the collector require to see a valid
ID from donor? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-2 Did the collector require the donor to
empty pockets? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-3 Did the collector require the donor to
remove hat, jacket? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-4 Did the collector require the donor to
wash and dry hands? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-5 Did the collector let the donor pick the
cup to be used for collection? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-6 Did the collector open the cup in front
of the donor? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-7 Did the collector instruct the donor to
provide at least 45ml of urine and to come out of the restroom
within 4 minutes? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-8 Did the collector ensure that the donor
does not take anything other than the collection cup
with them into the restroom? |
Yes____ |
No___ |
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Step-9 Did the collector instruct the donor not
to flush the toilet? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-10 Did the collector read the temp strip and
mark it on the CCF? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-11 Did the collector pour the urine into two
vials in front of the donor? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-12 Did the collector write the date on the
seal strips? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-13 Did the collector have the donor initial
the seal strips directly on the vials? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-14 Did the collector sign all appropriate
boxes accordingly on the CCF? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-15 Did the collector have the donor sign the
CCF (step 5) and did the collector
verify the name written on the CCF? |
Yes____ |
No____ |
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Step-16 Did the collector seal up the specimen in
the pouch correctly? |
Yes____ |
No____ |