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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAlcohol & Drug TestingJUDITH T. TERRY TOWN CL~RK REGISTRAR OF VITAL STATISTICS MARRIAGE OFFICER RECORDS M. iNAGE1ViENT OFFICER FREEDOM OF INFORMATION OFFICER Town Hall, 53095 Main Road P.O. Box 1179 Southold, New York 11971 Fax (516) 765-1823 Telephone (516) 765-1800 OFFICE OF ~ TOW1W CI,W. RK TOWN OF SOUTHOLr~ THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE FOLLOWING RE~OL1/FION WAS ADOPTWt~ BY THE SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD AT A REGULAR MEETING HELD ON DECEMBER I2. 1995: RI=SOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby adopts the following Town of Southold Alcohol and Drug Testing Policy, and designates Barbara A. Rudder, Personnel Assistant, as the Town's Liaison for the policy, and the Southold Town Substance Abuse Committee to conduct training under the policy: TOWN' OF SOb-f~iOr.D Alcohol and Drag Tes-dng Policy Pursuant to the Omnibus Transportation Em~toy~ Tesfmg :-%~ of !991 and r~,~_atazions set forth by the U. S. Depar'a-nem of Transpormfion~ ufo following poiiqz is effe;;ive ;m-anediazMy: L Those affected by this poli .c? All em~ioye,,,~ who are required to hold ~ CDL (Communal Driver's Lic~se) a~q pan of the~job requi. 'foments or who have ~ CDL and are offered promotion to the positions of AEO, CEO or any other saz%~ sensitive posidon for which a CDL is r~uired. IL Questions regarding this poll .cy: Any a-fleXed employee who has cluestions regm-ding this polio/should c~nracl: the Town Personnel Officer at 765-4333. /IL Wha£ the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Acz require: E~sentiaily, use Am re .re.tires e,,npioym-~ with 50 or more empioy~ m ccnduc: alcohol ami drug testing under the following ch%-anm-zanc~: t) ?."e empio.~enz - ~piies ro ne:v mmpioycz, a ?fired ~n a posidcm,:i-mz r .~7~ a. CDL. *~-~ Pr~mction - applies to ca.--enz :cw~ ~-nmicve~. . who ~e prcmor~ -:o pcs/ticns that requ. ire a CDL. 3) Post accident - any ac~de.~ as descried in ac¢~rda.uc¢ wit& the ~-~'. involving mtnwn vehic!e driven by a town employee shall rema/t in said employ~ being tested ~r ~it&er dn~s or alcohol, or both. Such tem:ing must be performed within a premc,-n'oed dine as follows: aicoT~o[ testing should be peffoc~aed within two hours but in no event more than eight kour~ c:fthe accident and controlled substance testing mmst be performed within 32 hou~ of the acdcLmnn Testing performed by a ceded ]BAT, police officer., hospital technician or iai othe~-ihd;~4dna[ so qualified will be ack,ted for the purposes of this poflcy. No employee, is exempt from tM.~ requirement. Any employee who de~R~erate!y ~-cumvents or refuses to cormTly wit& ffcfi.~ tm~timg shall be su~ec: to c~aciplinary action and shall be removed from all ddvin~ functiona and assi~mned to laborer duties az the appropriate rate ofcommensadon until suc~t time as ~:bm'the · employee complies (if compliance is within prescribed limits), disciplinary action i~ ~emm~ or it is demrmined that the non-compliance, was not deh~eraxe on the employee's parr_ 4) Random alcohot testing is to be performed on 25% of sub, eot employees a~v. Drdg tes'dng ~s to be pe. rformed on 50% of subjec:~, employees anmm{Iy. Testing will be ~om~i and performed throughouz the year. Employees will be randomly selected and random ~stinm for alcohoi wiit be condn~ed just prior to. d~,~n~, or jusz a~er. the performan~:e ofdrive.-ffm;~[m:. 5) Reasonable su~icion - Testing shall be re,auired when it is believed that the Ia~ ~-.~'z violated: ~ai.~ ~icion must be hazed on ~spec.'~c'obserwaziorm ora properiy trained su~er~z conc~-vrang ~e aumearance, behavior, speec, h or body odor of'he ooe.,'azor. 6) Re'mm to dm2z - if an operazor has failed an alcohol te~x (atcoho! concenwatic~.02 but less than .04) he rrmy no~ re.~ to duty in a safe~ sensiffve func~on (&'iv3ng) for ~ p~iodt c~Z4 hours. ~',he alcohol concenu"azion is. 0~ or above, such employ~ will be proh~%ked from s . ov me -mmoyer aha the subs'an~ anuse profe~iona; have b.~ c) the emp|oy~ passes a reuma to duff test with a result be;ow .02. The m--utovee wil% th~x be subje~ to no Iess than ~ unannounced follow up tests over. the ~e.x~ t2 mon~as.' These are the minimum pre-condkious for returning to work, bu~ are not a =~arau~e of re;mstazemem. 1~. What constituxes "Refusal to Submit"? A refusal to suflmit to required tesdng includes: a fmiure :o provide adequ,~, e brea~ f~ testing ~dt&cut a valid medic..-d exp. tanafiorn ~ to .m-ovide adeauaxe udme for a coauui~ed ~ab~t~ce te~in~ 'MrJaout a waiid medicai ~.'~qpianafion, ' ' · ' - or any omer ~nduc; winch ~ffv obsrcu~s the tes~_ prcc~s. F~-.iiure :o re:rm/n ~ avaiia~ie for posz ac.~den~ te.~ng absent l~i~'rim~ me~c~ re.on al.so conslJlmil:es a c~.fmsai to ~-~mir_ Prohibitive behavior:. Ali employees suh~: to this po[~ may uot eugage h the foIIowin~ ~vitie~: * Reporting to woric with an alcohol cormenlr~on crf. O2 or above · Empioye~ on standby may acm indulge in alcoholic beverages or um%~e iil%=--~at dm~ · Use of~l~at dru~s sm any th.e P~ssession o£ alcohol at work. use of alcohot az work. use crfalco~ot four hours prior to reporting to work, use of alcohol wkhin eight hottrs following an am~ent whm-e a post-ac~denz alcohol test is required, using alcohol before mca a te~ (whicAeter comes ~a'--O, tm=esot to submit to any requir~ alcohol or controlled subsianc~ te~, or reporting for work or remaining on duty when ope~xor has used any comrolled mbstance, mxcm/ot, ifus~ Fmm the instmctious of a physidan who has ad~i~ that such use will mt adv~dy affem the employ~'s ability to operate a commerdai motor veh/de. - Vi. Consequences: Some of the consequences for violation of this policy, have be,'~ discuss~ in earlier sections. Section VI will be=er define and reiterate the penalties that simlt be imposed against employees who are in non-compliance, violation, or have b~een found in violation more than once. E~-M_PLOY~.~S WltO REFUSE TO SUB~gI' TO i~NDOM DRUG TEST~G: First refusal: Removal fi-om driver's position and assi~ment as laborer at appropriate rote of pay, until such time as employee complies. Second refusal: Immediate suspension and filing of disciplinary charges which may remit in employee's term/ration. Once an emptoy~ is scheduled for testing he shall not be excused for any reason unless authorized by the town. E~%IPLOYEES 'C/HO FAIL DRUG TEST: a) Immediate removal fi-om driving .rung-don and assignmem as laborer at appropriate rate of pay. b) Referral to a substanc,o abuse professional and em-oilmenz in a' rehabilitation pro~m'arn. Emptoy~ will corrrinue in l~orer position until completion o£pro~m'am. Upon remm to work and prior ro reinstatement to driving ~ncfion, the empioy~ vfiil submit to a Jrug ~creen. No le~s than six random scre~n~ will occur over the ne:'~ ra, eive months. If the employee fm~ any mbsequenr drug ~esrs. he shall be subjecr~, to disciptinw.~ ac'~on. Except for employee refusal, and those actions mandated by taw, penalties prescffbed by this section shall be applied on a case by case basis. Other considerations may come into piay, i.e., length of time saber or clean before ret~se, employee's work record, and mitig~ating circumstances. EMPLOYEES W]ffO R~FUSE TO SUBMIT TO AI,COItOL TESTING: A refusal to submit to alcohol testing shall result in the same consequences as refusal to submit to drug testing as prescribed under that section. E34PLO~ES WHO FAIl', gan ALCOHOL TEST: a) A BAT (Breath Alcohol Technician) will conduct the procedure and if the employee tests .02 but less than .04 s/he shall be prohibited from driving for a period of 24 hours. b) If the employee fails a second alcohol test w/thin a six month period where a reading of.02 is observed, s/he shall be assigned and paid as a laborer for no less than ti-wee months, during which time the employee shall be subject to at least three unannounced alcohol tests. At the completion of this three month per/od, if there has been no further positive test results, the employee shall be reinstated to his or her pe,wnanent position. If the employee tests positive during tiffs period, s/he shall be mediately suspended and disciplinary charges shall be filed accordingly, tf az any time an employee requests assistance for a problem assodated with any kind of substance abuse (in particular prior to his being scheduled for testing) the town w/il extend every consideration as long as the employee is sincerely motivated. c) If an employee tests .04 or above, such employee shall immediately be reassigned as a laborer and paid accordingly. S/he shall notbe reinstated to his permanent position until: * The employee is evaluated by a substance abuse professional. * Any requirements for rehabilitation set by the town and the substanc~ abuse professional have been completed. o The employee passes a remm to dub :esr with a result below .02_ The employee w~]l then be subje~ to no less than 6 unarmounced follow-up tests over the next i2 months VII. Training: Emptoy~,s covered by the act will be ~,ven a copy of the town's policy, and irk ,m'ovisions wilt be fully explained. Manuals will be disuSbuted which will discuss the me,ods ,.x4ed by the laboratory to condu~ tests, as weft as risks assoc~mted with substance abuse. Supe~'~,isors ,~aTd be trained ro determine the appropr/am c/rcumstances for conducing reasonabie ms?i~on testa Reasonable suspicion is based on' sp~,fic observations of a tm/ned supe~m/scr based on an employee's behavior charameristics. Such characteristics associated with substance abuse and for which an empi~ may be directed to undergo a drag screen for reaso~te suspicion include, bur are nor limited m: abrupt changes in quality of work or work ourpm: unusual flare-ups or outbreaks of temper withdrawal from responsibility general overall changes in attitude deterioration of physical appearance and groom/ng wearing of sunglasses at i~appmpriate times (m hide d~u~ ~r cor~U~cre/tmp~) association wilfi known substance abusers excessive borrowing furtive or overt behavior odor on breath diffictdty focusing ~dlazed appearance of eyes uncharacteristically passive or combative behavior unex'ptained frequent accidents flushed skin blackouts odor similar to burut rope on clothing or sldn sturr~d speech Obviously, most of these characteristics by themseives may net be cmrse for reasamf~e suspicion. However, in combination or frequency of oc~.m'~ -~ they n-my cx~n~G,,m ~ reasonable suspicion and require an emptoy~ to be tested. VIII. Procedures for Testing Drug to_q-lng: a) When an employ~ reports to a collection sdte s/he will be required to show pimm identification. Failure to appear at the scheduled t/me for a drug or alcohol test may be construed as a re~msal to submit and shall result in act/ohs prescribed by Section VI oft~ policy. b) Outer ~arments and personal beto ~ngin~ shall be removed and ~ in ~ secure [ccarlrm in order to avoid concealment of kerns or substances whic,~ could be used ~o contaminate the · spec/men. c) Ur/ne cotl~:fion - The employ~ will be ~ven a sealed s~ec;anen lilt and insrmc*~,d to provide a urine spec4auen in the priva~.~ of a restroom desi~ated and ~repared for collection procedures, in accordance with DOT requ/reme~s. ~rb t~e ,x-c~d~ efr~e actual, cat~ec~.~Lq~ of a specimen, a t~hnicm shall remain in the employee's prese~nc~ a~ all times. The empioy~ umst provide at least 45 rrri~merers of ur:me or be advised bvrhe rechni~m that more ks required. Ute emptoy~ will be requir~ ro rem at the collec-2on'ske for a re.enable period of time until ~ou~l urine N coite~,ed. Lf the em=iov~ ~ unabie to provide sufficient amount of urine, the emptoy. ~ may be -dh-octopod to r~ma/~ ~3;'t~:i~ ~ke u~i ~c5 time ~s he is able ro provide an adequate amoum for a ~spe'd'anem A separate container shall be mod k~ Immediately after collection the technician sh~[l, in the presence of the individ~ml, record the temperarare of'the spec/men using the attached temperature strip on the cotlect/on container. The time from urination to the temperarare measurement shall not exceed 4 minutes. If the spec/men temperature is outside the range of 90.5 to 99.8F there is reasonable suap[cion of' adulteration/substitution, and the technician shall ask the employee if he or she wautd consent to having his or her oral temperature taken. If the oral tempe~ aiare dues not matcla that of the urine temperature, a second spec/men must be collected and both samples will be forwarcted to the laboratory. A visual inspection will be made to assess the specimen's color and to identify any contaminants. Any unusual color or appearance re. suiting from the inspection shall be documented on the chain of custody form. Color and appearance are both ~nh~caut when assessing the specimen. If the urine specimen is a non-mine color (i.e., green, blue, etc.) the specimen wilI-be considered invalid or probably adulterated. However, the specimen will be forwarded to the laboratory for analysis. The technician shall pour 30 mt into om bottle (primary' specimen) and I5 mi into a second bottle (split spec,men). Both bott/es shall be slipped to the laboratory. The employee and technician will keep the spec/men in view at ali times prior to its being sealed and labeled. The employee will he requested to observe transfer and rep!aov, ment oflabets to a second container is necessary. The tamper proof identification w/It be compt~ed and affixed to the specimen bottle and the employee will in/rial the seat. The identifying inr%rmation will be entered into the permanent record book and the employee and technician will sign the book. Toe technician will continue to conmtete all required & data on the chain of custody form and insau~ the donor to read and 'siun the approuriate sect/om. After collection of the specimen, the specanen shall be placed in securely Sealed spec:anen boxes. The technician w/ii initial and date the tape, sealing the container. Specimens Mil be shipped or mailed to the laboratory within 24 hours of collection. Alcohol TeSting: a) When an employee reports to a collection site s/he will be requested to show photo ide~i~iacafion. Failure to appear at the scheduled rime for a drug or alcohol test may be construed as a re, sol to submit and shall remit in actions az prescn"oed by Section VI of this policy. b) The BAT w~iI ask the donor if s/he has eaten or drank anything, or used mouthwash, in the 15 minutes prior to the test Ifthe donor mates that s/he has. and the BAT believes that what the donor are or drank could contain alcohol, the donor shall wait 15 minutes prior to s~arting the breath test. c) 'fine BAT s~hall describe the procedure to the donor and then conduct, the test in accordance with the written procedures which inco~orare the remfirements 0f49 CFR part 40, and the EBT mamaSmmrer's insu'umions. ' d) When the rest is printed on the primer, the BAT simll separate the three r~arrs of the form. One copy Mil be ~v.en to the donor, one copy ,~&~ be returned to the employee's If the first breath test yields a positive test result (.02 or higher) the BAT shall uhen have the individual wait for 15 minutes before starting another breath test. After the required 15 minute wait, the BAT shall again test the donor. If this test is positive, the BAT shall advise the donor that the donor has screened and confirmed positive for alcohol. The BAT will immediately advise the de.si. 'gnated town r~resentative by telephone or by electronic means, in a confident/al manner, that the donor has tested positive. The consequences for failing or refi~sing to comply with drug or alcohol procedures are prescffbed under Section VI of this policy. IX. Chain of Cnstody: Chain of custody is a record of every person who has respons~ility for a urine specime~ from the momem the specimen is collected to the moment its analysis is completed. In ord~- for the results of a particular specimen to be considered valid, k is necessary to show that the specimen itself has been handled responsibly and that no altering or tampering of the spe~ane, n has taken place. A specimen is considered safely in custody only while k is in the physical co~oI ora responsible technician or placed in a locked desk, file cabinet or refrigerator. Appropriate chain of custody forms will be utilized for the purpose of malnta/n/ng Control and accoum'~F;~iity from initial collection to final disposition of all sp~imens, Taese forms will.always accompany the specimen through use of information which matches label items, and a sequen~Saf number assigned to each urine specirnen ebro/ned. X. ~ledical Review Officer: The lab reports all drug tests in a confidential m~nner to the desi__anated Medical Review. Officer, or NiRO. The ~'V~O is a fully certified physician with knowledge of iilicit drugs and how they are metabolized by the human body. For conf,, reed positive drag tests, the ~ff<O contacts the emptoy~ by telephone and has a confidential discussion with him or her. ~ue ~,'nvtover is not notified of the positive test result unffl the emvlov~ has the ovrmrmnitv to talk with the ~[KO. Depending upon which drug was discovered, the M!~O asks questions to find out whether the drug was lebmtly prescribed, if'the employee can ~piain a positive test through a copy ora prescription, the name ora doctor, or a copy of the label of the bottle then the will mark "Negative" on the drug test result. This is despite the fact that the laboratory did correctly determine the test as positive. ~ne employer wi~l never, know that the emptoy~ was under suspicion of a positive test., unless the employ~ chooses to inform the employer. On the other hand, ir'the employee cannot explain or just/fy to the MRO why the test was positive, the Mtl. O v~fl inform the employee that the employer will be notified of the positive result. During medical review wi~h the employee. the MKO will inform the employee of the right to split analysis. A~er ~rRO v~ficafiou of a positive result, the employ~ will be kffe~med by the NfKO that he or she will have 72 hours to provide a request for a split analysis at a se~.~nd DH}{S ce.~ed lab. ,~er MKO verification of a positive result, the N'[R.O will notify the en¢toy~ of the positive result_ The employer muxc remove that empioy~ from any mfe~ sensitive duties. ~the s~iit analysis fails to reconfirm the dru~ the re~aits of the test are canceled and ~e employee. ~iil be restored any wages that may have been test during this period. Conclusion: The Town of Southold realizes that some employees who are subject to th/s policy may need assistance beyond that which is required under the Ornm~ous Tmmsporrat/on Employee Testing Act. The Town encourages its employees to utilize the Employee As~-mvmce Pro,warn and to take advantage of what k offers. This program is available to all employees ami their relatives and is not specifically restricted to drags and alcohol Other problems -Jay be addressed, whether related to substance abuse or not. An employee need not wait urm'l he tests positive or needs assistance in resolving pmbtems with drag or atcohot abuse before askfmg for help. WEIO TO CALL - Barbara A. Rudder Personnel Agsi~lhnt TELEPHONE - 765-4333 The Town ofSouthold's adminisuutor to conduct OTETA requirements is the ~xratkmal Association of Drug Free Employees" (N_Ag)E). This company is comprised of the following elements: - Progr~ administration · Cotlec~on services - Laboratory services · Tests and related materials Medical review officer services o Keporfing and record keying - Tralhing · Random sete-~don NADE's offices are located at 811 Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown, New York. The HI-tS certified laborato~ utilized by MADE is Roche Laboratories. The company is higMy quat~ed to perform such se.wices and has a proven track record in responding to client needs in acc~ord~nce with Federal State and local regulations. Some of its better known clients are Consolidated Edison Company, Stony Brook Unive,,~/ry, Town of Brookhaven, Town of Babylon, M~ L~fe, United Airlines and Delta 'Airlines. Judith T. Terry Southotd Town Cler'k Dece~mber 13. t995