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| Issued: 03/96
Classification Code: OP 03-03 |
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I.
Reporting of Violations II.
Drug and Alcohol Testing (as required by
the Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation) A.
Coverage:
All employees who meet one of the following criteria will be included in
the University's drug and alcohol testing program. The categories of
employees covered by this program include all employees who at any time: 1. drive motor vehicles
designed to carry 16 or more passengers (including the driver); 2.
drive trucks weighing more than 26,000 pounds; 3. drive any size
vehicle used to transport materials considered to be hazardous under the
Hazardous Materials Transportation Act and required to be placarded under the
Hazardous Materials Regulations; or, 4.
Employees engaged in safety sensitive work related to the operation of
covered motor vehicles. B.
When Testing is Required: Covered
individuals are subject to drug and alcohol testing under any of the following
circumstances: 1.
Pre-Employment Testing: covered individuals will, as a condition of
employment, undergo testing for controlled substances prior to beginning covered
employment. 2.
Post Accident Testing: by accepting
employment covered individuals must consent to controlled substance and alcohol
testing after an accident as required by law. 3.
Reasonable Suspicion Testing: if a
covered individual is exhibiting, in the judgment of the supervisor, erratic
behavior, behavior which may endanger the safety of himself or others, or if the
supervisor smells the odor of alcohol, the covered individual is subject to drug
or alcohol testing. 4.
Return To Duty Follow-Up Testing:
covered employees who are returning to work from treatment of alcohol or
substance abuse are subject to testing and certification requirements and may be
subjected to unscheduled follow-up testing. 5.
Random Testing: all covered
individuals are subject to random testing each year. C.
Consequences of Failing Drug or Alcohol Testing: 1.
On a first failure, the employee will be immediately suspended from his
or her duties and, in order to continue in employment, will be required to seek
evaluation and treatment from a licensed substance abuse professional. Payment
for treatment will be the employee's responsibility. a.
While suspended, the employee may
use paid leaves from his or her available sick leave or vacation leave balances
to remain in paid status. If the employee has no paid leave available, the
period of suspension will be without pay. However, all uses of leave are
subject to the policies, procedures and/or bargaining unit resolutions under
which they fall. b.
The employee must provide a status
report regarding his or her continued treatment from his or her substance abuse
professional to his or her supervisor, not less frequently than every two
calendar weeks. c.
Upon being released from treatment and
prior to being allowed to return to work, the employee must consent to and
successfully pass a Return to Work drug or alcohol test. d.
The employee will be subject to
unannounced Follow-Up Testing. 2. A second instance of failing a drug or alcohol test will result in the employee being involuntarily terminated from his or her employment with the University. D.
Refusal to test or provide an adequate
sample for testing: 1.
Refusal to test when requested to do so
under any of the five circumstances when testing may be required (see II B.
above), shall constitute insubordination and will result in termination of
employment effective at the time of the refusal to test. 2.
Failure to provide the required amount of
urine required for a specimen: a.
Employees who cannot provide the required
amount of urine will be told to drink 8 ounces of fluid immediately and an
additional 8 ounces every 30 minutes up to a total of 40 ounces. If the
employee still is unable to produce the required specimen within four hours, the
test will be discontinued and the University notified. The employee must then be
evaluated by a physician (at the employee's cost) to determine if the reason the
employee could not produce a specimen is medically related. If the
physician does not find that a medical reason prevented the employee from
producing a specimen, then the employee's failure to have produced a sample will
constitute a refusal to test and shall constitute the employee's voluntary
resignation from employment. b. If the failure to provide the required amount of urine is found to be medically related, the employee will be retested. 3.
Failure to provide adequate breath for
testing without a valid medical reason, constitutes a refusal to test and shall
cause the employee to be considered as having voluntarily resigned from
employment. a.
An employee who alleges an inability to
provide an adequate breath sample will be directed to obtain, as soon as it is
practical, a medical evaluation of his or her medical ability to provide an
adequate amount of breath. Such an evaluation shall be obtained by the
employee at his or her own cost from a licensed physician acceptable to the
University. If the physician concludes that there is a reasonable medical
justification for not providing the adequate breath sample, the failure to have
provided the sample shall not constitute a refusal to test. b. If the physician is unable to conclude that a medical reason prevented the provision of an adequate breath sample, the refusal shall constitute a refusal to test and shall cause the employee to be considered as having voluntarily resigned employment. The employee must provide to the University the physician's written medical conclusions in either case. E.
Special Post-Accident Provisions 1.
Essential medical treatment following an
accident should never be delayed in order to implement drug or alcohol testing.
However, such testing should occur as soon as practical and within eight hours
of the accident whenever possible. 2.
Any post-accident test which results in a
positive finding of drugs or alcohol shall expose the employee to disciplinary
action up to and including termination of employment as follows: a.
Any positive finding of drugs or an
alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater on an alcohol breath test, shall
constitute the employee's involuntary termination from employment and may
subject the employee to possible prosecution. b.
An alcohol concentration of 0.02 or
greater on an alcohol breath test, if the individual has had a previous positive
test, shall constitute the employee's involuntary termination from employment
and may subject the employee to possible prosecution. c.
An alcohol concentration between 0.02 and
0.04 on an alcohol breath test, if the individual had no previous positive test,
shall subject the employee to immediate removal without pay from his or her
duties for a period of 24 hours and the placement of a final letter of warning
in his or her personnel file. d.
An alcohol concentration below 0.02 on an
alcohol breath test is considered a negative test and does not subject the
employee to discipline. F.
Tests and Records 1.
All drug and alcohol testing performed on
individuals will be in accordance with required Department of Transportation
procedures. These include the use of special testing forms, use of trained
personnel, and special processes and handling to insure the integrity and
accuracy of the testing process. 2.
Information related to testing will be
treated as confidential except as required to comply with Department of
Transportation requirements, to safeguard the safety of personnel and the
public, or as otherwise legally required. G. Construction - all testing, record keeping, interpretation, definitions, etc. shall be consistent with and governed by applicable federal and or state laws and regulations. Specifically, the drug and alcohol testing programs are mandated by U.S. Department of Transportation regulations authorized under the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 (Public Law 102 - 143) and its amendments and other laws. The University's Policy and Procedures are adopted in accordance with these laws and regulations and any part hereof not in conformity with these laws and regulations shall be amended automatically to conform with those laws and regulations. III.
A Covered Employee must not: A.
Be under the influence of alcohol within
4 hours before going on duty or operating, or having physical control of, or
being on duty to operate, a covered vehicle or performing other Department of
Transportation covered safety sensitive duties. B.
Use or possess alcohol (including
medications, foods, mouth washes, sprays, or any other substance which contains
alcohol), even with a doctor's prescription, for 4 hours before duty, while on
duty, or 8 hours after an accident (unless alcohol testing has been performed
after the accident). C.
Perform safety sensitive duties if aware
of any medical condition or alcohol or drug use that may adversely affect his or
her ability to perform such duties. D. Use any controlled substance unless specifically authorized by a physician and then the physician tells the individual that use of the controlled substance will not affect the performance of safety sensitive functions. The University must be notified in advance of the use of prescription drugs which may affect performance of covered employment by covered employees. |
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