DRUG POLICY OUTLINE (ATTACHMENT)
[Agency Name] has zero tolerance for the use of alcohol, illegal substances, or the misuse of
prescription medications while on duty or the presence of these substances in the body while on
duty regardless of when consumed.
Designated Contact Person:
Alternate Contact Persons:
Period of Coverage:
The use and ingestion of prohibited drugs is prohibited at all times. An employee must not
consume alcohol for hours prior to duty, eight hours following an accident, during any time they
are considered on-call or until the employee undergoes a post-accident test. This means that
employees must refrain from alcohol use while on split shift-assignments.
Definition of “On Duty”: Certain employees are scheduled to work split shifts in order t o serve
the needs of clients and to effectively use the resources of the agency. Van drivers are required
to work schedules which require split work schedules. Van drivers are scheduled to begin their
workday when they board a company vehicle to begin their route to pick up the first client of the
day. The shift ends when the morning route is completed or the last client is dropped off. There
may be “free time” between shifts, routes or medical. The second part of the shift begins when
the driver picks up the first client for the afternoon and ends when the last client is dropped off at
their final destination. If there is more than one hour of free time between clients, constitutes
another shift. Driver with outpost vehicle (vehicles kept at home location overnight) must end
their day at the time they drop off their last client. Other agency employees are considered “on
duty” when they report to their workstation to begin their day. They are “off duty” when they
leave their work station for the day. [Agency Name] has no employees that are considered “on
call”.
Categories of the Employees Covered:
This policy applies to all employees, therefore, all agency employees, including temporaries
working in a safety-sensitive position will be randomly tested 50% annually, while non-safety
sensitive staff will be randomly tested at 10% annually. Safety sensitive will be defined as:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Anyone driving any agency vehicle
Anyone performing dispatch
Anyone supervising drivers
Anyone operating equipment connected with vehicles or mechanical maintenance
Any staff member directly responsible for the care and safety of children
Any staff member directly responsible for transporting agency clients in their personal
vehicles
7. Any staff member directly responsible for performing agency services in a client’s home
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What types of testing will be done?
Pre-employment
Random testing
Reasonable suspicion
Post accident
What are the prohibited substances?
Marijuana
Cocaine
Opiates (narcotics such as heroin, morphine, and codeine)
Phencyclidine
(The agency reserves the right to test for additional drugs if there is a reason to believe the
employee is abusing another substance)
Who will do the drug testing?
Connection services are contracted with the [Name of Drug Testing Provider]. The testing
methods are consistent with 49CFR Part 40 procedures. A urinalysis is performed for drugs,
utilizing the split specimen collection method. At the collection site, the urine sample will be
divided into equal parts and labeled for each individual. The attendant completes a USDOT
Chain of Custody form with a unique number for identification while the employee is there. The
[Agency Name] employee initials the tape identifying his/her specimen after the tape has been
placed on the container. A daily courier service collects the specimen after the specimens, and
delivers them to [Name of Drug Test Screening Lab], where the drug screen is conducted. The
results of the test are returned to the hospital where a Medical Review Officer interprets the test
results. This Medical Review Officer will make the final decision as to a positive or negative
test result. If the first test at the lab comes back positive, the Medical Review Officer will notify
you and discuss any prescription medicines that you may be taking at the time of the collection.
All medications will be verified with the employee’s physician. At this time, the employee has
the right to request a re-test of the split sample to assure the accuracy of the test. Alternate types
of test may be conducted when two or more tests within twelve months are found to be
inconclusive or if the situation warrants.
Breath alcohol testing will be done using a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
approved testing device operated by a certified breath alcohol technician. A breath alcohol test
displaying any amount of alcohol will be considered a positive.
A positive test result in any amount of alcohol or illegal substance as revealed by the drug
or breath alcohol test will result in immediate termination and the employee will be
referred to the agency Employee Assistance Program.
If I feel that I have a substance abuse problem, can I ask for help?
The [Agency Name]’s Drug-Free Workplace Policy allows an employee to voluntarily come
forward and ask for rehabilitation counseling. The employee will still be suspended without pay
until the Substance Abuse Professional can certify him/her fit to return to duty. Any employee
with a substance abuse problem is encouraged to seek help through [Agency Name]’s Employee
Assistance Program. Any employee convicted of any criminal drug or alcohol abuse violation
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while employed is required to report this conviction to the Executive Director within five days of
the conviction to the or face dismissal.
Pre-employment Drug Testing
The applicant selected for hire will be asked to take a drug test that day. A negative drug test
will constitute an officer of employment, while a positive test will result in not being considered
for hire. The only appeal procedure goes to the Review Committee in case of a flawed procedure
or that prescription drugs may have unfairly skewed the results, in which case the committee will
authorize a second test.
Reasonable Suspicion Drug Testing
Supervisors can determine and make a referral for reasonable suspicion testing. These
supervisors must be those who provide direction and make decisions affecting the assignments
and duties of one or more employees on a daily basis and have received a minimum of 2 hours of
training on behavioral signs and symptoms of drug use and a minimum of 1 Manager, and
Department Manager will be informed and asked to make an observation where possible.
Upon making the decision to test, the supervisor will pull that employee from duty and remind
him/her of the drug testing policy. The Personnel Manager will issue a written directive, and the
supervisor will arrange for transportation to the collection site within two hours of the directive.
Arrangements for a meeting of the staff Review Committee will be made so that the employee
will have an opportunity to explain his/her side of the incident. (The supervisor is also
authorized to call for police protection if the employee’s behavior poses a threat). The employee
will be suspended without pay pending the result of the drug testing.
If the test is negative, the employee will be notified to return to work with no loss in pay and the
file (including all documents) will be purged in the presence of the employee.
If the test is positive, the employee will be terminated from employment. The employee may
request a split sample test be performed. The cost of this split sample test is the responsibility of
the employee. If the second test is negative, the agency will reimburse the employee for the cost
of the test and the employee will be reinstated.
Post-Accident Testing
An accident shall be defined as any occurrence associated with the operation of a vehicle in
which an individual dies, an individual who suffer bodily injury and received medical treatment
away from the scene of the accident, and an incident in which a vehicle sustains disabling
damage requiring a tow truck. Under the authority of the agency, any staff member requiring
medical attention from Occupational Health is also considered an accident for testing purposes.
Whether or not the accident is the employee’s fault, any employee that is involved in any kind of
work related accident will be required to take a post-accident drug/alcohol test as soon as
possible following the accident. The Personnel Manager will issue a Post Accident Testing form
to take to Urgent Care, and, if necessary, transportation will be provided. In the event the
employee is hospitalized, arrangements will be made for the drug/alcohol testing to be done
there. If the test is negative and involves a driving accident, the supervisor will evaluate the
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individual’s driving record and decide if disciplinary measures are indicated. If the accident
occurs after the Urgent Care Center is closed for the evening, the employee should report to the
Emergency Room, where emergency room personnel will call in the appropriate drug testing
personnel to perform the test.
Random Drug Testing
Random drug testing is simply a random selection of 50% of the safety-sensitive pool of
employee and 10% of the non-safety-sensitive pool of employees.
[Agency Name] has contracted with [Random Drug Testing List Provider] to draw names each
month of employees to be sent for a random test. On the last of the month, the Personnel
Director will request a list of current staff (including social security number and whether they are
safety sensitive or non-safety sensitive). This list is faxed to our contact person who will, in turn,
enter the information into his computer and generate a computer chosen list for the next month.
He mails the list to the Executive Director, who reviews the list, and forwards it to the Personnel
Manager. The names on the list are number one through four, corresponding to four weeks in a
month. The first week, the names that are numbered one will be sent, the second week, the
names that are numbered two and so on until the month is completed. Even though their names
may be drawn often, employees will not be sent for a drug test more than once per quarter.
The Personnel Manager will coordinate with the supervisors to send their staff for the rest. The
supervisors will be notified in advance so that appropriate measures may be taken to cover staffchild ratios. The supervisors will be responsible for ensuring that the employees get to the test
site in timely manner.
What happens if a staff person refuses to take a test?
A refusal to submit to a drug test means automatic termination of employment. Other
behaviors will be considered a refusal: leaving the test site without completing the test, the
inability to provide sufficient quantities of breath or urine to be tested without a valid medical
explanation, tampering with or attempting to adulterate the specimen or collection procedure, not
reporting to the collection site in the time allotted or leaving the scene of an accident without a
valid reason before the tests have been conducted.
What kind of drug/alcohol training is provided?
All supervisors shall receive a minimum of two hours of training in substance abuse awareness
education per year. Supervisors will be trained to explain the drug policy to employee, provide
guidance and support to employees, as well as trained on the availability of drug treatment and
counseling programs, including accessing those programs. All employees will receive one hour
of substance abuse awareness education per year. This training will be provided by a substance
abuse professional.
General information regarding substance abuse, including telephone numbers for further
information, will be distributed to every employee, along with a copy of the [Agency Name]
Drug and Alcohol Policy. This will be documented in each employee’s personnel file, with a
copy to be kept in a file with their drug test results. For new employees, this will be done during
their agency orientation session within the first few days of employment. Each employee will
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sign a statement of understanding that, as a condition of employment under grants providing
funding for his/her position, the employee will abide by the terms of the drug free workplace
statement and notify [Agency Name] in writing of his/her conviction for a violation of a criminal
drug statue occurring in the workplace no later than five calendar days after such conviction.
Agency Support Services
[Agency Name] will pay for the initial visit to the [Employee Assistance Program] for
counseling, however, further visits will be the responsibility of the employee. This will be done
regardless of whether the employee request assistance due to a substance abuse problem or tested
positive, resulting in termination. In addition, all cost related to the drug test will be paid by the
agency. The employee will be responsible for the payment if he/she requests a split sample test.
Reimbursement for split-sample testing will be provided if the test is determined to be negative.
Will I ever be considered for re-employment following a positive test?
All staff members terminated because of a positive drug test will be referred to the [Employee
Assistance Program] for assistance in a rehabilitation program. An employee is eligible to
reapply following the completion of a rehabilitation program with documentation from a SAP
and testing negative for one full year.
Disclosure of Test Results
The actual results of drug/alcohol tests maintained on file by [Agency Name] may be released
only to the employee, if he/she requests the results in writing, the NCDOT, if requested for
monitoring/auditing purposes, and the National Transportation Safety Board as part of an
accident investigation. They may also be released to subsequent employers, if requested in
writing by the employee, the decision-maker in a lawsuit, grievance, or other proceeding initiated
by or on behalf of the employee and arising from the result of a drug or alcohol test administered
under FTA’s rules, and other identified persons as requested in writing by the employee.
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