This policy is based upon the Town and Village - Drug and Alcohol Testing Association (T.V.-D.A.T.A.) practice and policy prohibiting the use of alcohol and drugs on the job, the Federal Drug Free Workplace Act of 1989 and the soon to be in effect Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act (OTETA). The OTETA is scheduled to take effect for T.V.-D.A.T.A. members on January 1, 1996, and the members will comply with United State Department of Transportation rules which mandate preemployment, reasonable suspicion, post accident, random follow-up and return-to-duty drug and alcohol testing of employees in various positions requiring the possession of a commercial driver's license and defined as safety sensitive.
Each Town and Village - Drug and Alcohol Testing Association member will assist his employees who have a drug or alcohol dependency to recover from such addiction, provided that the employee seeks and accepts assistance. However, the municipality may take appropriate formal disciplinary action, in accordance with this policy. It is important to emphasize that employees with drug and/or alcohol problems, who wish to avail themselves of rehabilitative services under the health insurance or any other rehabilitation program, should pursue help before they are determined to be in violation of the municipality's drug-free workplace policy.
After January 1, 1996, all drivers with commercial driver's licenses (CDL), performing safety-sensitive functions, operating a vehicle with a gross weight of 26,000 pounds or more on a public highway or a motor vehicle requiring a placard, as defined by the Federal Highway Administration, will be subject to drug and alcohol testing.
Safety-sensitive functions are as follows:
A. All time at a carrier facility, or other property, waiting to be dispatched, unless the driver has been relieved from duty by employer.
B. All time inspecting equipment or servicing or conditioning any commercial motor vehicle, at any time.
C. All time spent at the driving controls of a commercial motor vehicle.
D. All time, other than driving time, spent on or in a commercial motor vehicle.
E. All time loading or unloading a commercial motor vehicle, supervising or assisting in loading a commercial motor vehicle, attending a vehicle being loaded or unloaded or remaining in readiness to operate a vehicle.
F. All time spent performing the driver requirements associated with an accident.
G. All time repairing, obtaining assistance or remaining in attendance upon a disabled vehicle.
The following alcohol and controlled-substance-related activities are prohibited by the Federal Highway Administration's drug use and alcohol misuse rules for drivers of commercial motor vehicles:
A. Reporting for duty or remaining on duty to perform safety-sensitive functions while having an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater .
B. Being on duty or operating a commercial vehicle (CMV) while the driver possesses alcohol, unless alcohol is manifested and transported as part of a shipment. This includes the possession of medicines containing alcohol (prescription or over-the-counter), unless the packaging seal is unbroken.
C. Using alcohol while performing safety-sensitive functions.
D. When required to take a post-accident alcohol test, using alcohol within eight hours following the accident or prior to undergoing a post-accident alcohol test, whichever comes first.
E. Refusing to submit to an alcohol or controlled substance test required by post-accident, random, reasonable suspicion or follow-up testing requirements.
F. Reporting for duty or remaining on duty, requiring the performance of safety-sensitive functions, when the driver uses any controlled substance. Except when instructed by a physician who has advised the driver that the substance does not adversely affect the driver's ability to safely operate a CMV.
G. Reporting for duty, remaining on duty or performing a safety-sensitive function, if the driver tests positive for controlled substances.
Random alcohol testing shall be conducted in accordance with the following requirements:
A. Random alcohol testing shall be administered at a minimum annual rate of 25% of the average number of driver positions.
B. The employer shall ensure that random alcohol tests are unannounced and spread reasonably throughout the calendar year.
C. The employer shall ensure that drivers selected for random alcohol tests proceed immediately to the testing site upon notification of being selected.
D. A driver shall only be tested for alcohol while the driver is performing safety-sensitive functions, immediately prior to performing or immediately after performing safety-sensitive functions.
E. Employers may pool interstate and intrastate drivers together for random alcohol testing.
F. If an employer is required to conduct random alcohol testing under the rules of more than one DOT agency, the employer may either:
(1) Establish separate pools for random selection, with each pool containing the DOT covered employees who are subject to testing at the same required minimum annual percentage rate; or
(2) Randomly select such employees for testing at the highest minimum annual percentage rate established for the calendar year by any DOT agency to which the employer is subject.
G. In the event that a driver who is selected for a random alcohol test is on vacation or an extended medical absence, the employer can either select another driver for testing or keep the original selection confidential until the driver returns.
Random controlled substances testing shall be conducted in accordance with the following requirements:
A. Employer must use a scientifically valid method, such as a random number table which is matched with the driver's social security number.
B. Random controlled substances testing shall be administered at a minimum annual rate of 50% of the average number of driver positions.
C. The employer shall ensure that random controlled substances tests are unannounced and spread reasonably throughout the calendar year.
D. The employer shall ensure that drivers selected for random controlled substances tests proceed immediately to the testing site upon notification of being selected.
Persons with a CDL license and who are immediately available to perform a safety-sensitive function (as noted in §
15-4 of this policy) will be subject to drug testing.
A. Drugs tested for; employee testing procedure.
(1) DOT agency drug testing programs require that employees be tested for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and phencydidine.
(2) The employee will be notified by the supervisor and he/she will be instructed to go to a specified location for a drug test.
(3) Once at the collection site, the employee will be given a sealed specimen bottle or a sealed collection container and provided a room that will afford the employee visual and aural privacy for him/her to provide a urine sample for drug testing.
(4) Once a sample is collected, the employee is to return the sample to the collector immediately. The sample will be checked for temperature and it will be recorded on the official form. The specimen will be split into Bottle A and bottle B. The official form and two specimen bottles will be sent to a laboratory for testing of the five drugs listed in Subsection
A(1) of this section.
B. Laboratory procedure; review of test results; notice to employee.
(1) The laboratory shall report as negative all specimens that are negative on the initial test. Only specimens confirmed positive shall be reported positive for a specific drug.
(2) The laboratory has five working days after receipt of the specimen to report the results of the tests to the Medical Review Officer.
(3) The Medical Review Officer shall review confirmed positive results, making sure all steps have been taken to assure an accurate test.
(4) Prior to making a final decision to verify a positive test result for an employee, the Medical Review Officer shall contact the employee directly, on a confidential basis, to determine if he/she wishes to discuss the test results. A medically licensed or certified staff person under the Medical Review Officer's supervision may gather information from the employee. The Medical Review Officer shall talk directly with the employee before verifying a test as positive.
(5) If, after making all reasonable efforts and documenting them, the Medical Review Officer is unable to reach the employee directly, he/she shall contact a designated management official who shall direct the employee to contact the Medical Review Officer as soon as possible. The management official shall employ a procedure that ensures that this notice is held in confidence.
C. Verification of test without employee knowledge. The Medical Review Officer may verify a test as positive without having communicated directly with the employee about the test in two circumstances:
(1) The employee expressly declines the opportunity to discuss the test.
(2) The designated employer representative has successfully made and documented a contact with the employee and instructed the employee to contact the Medical Review Officer and more than five days have passed since the date the employee was successfully contacted.
D. Employee procedure upon positive verification.
(1) If a test is verified positive under the circumstances specified in Subsection
C(1) or
(2) of this section, the employee may present, to the Medical Review Officer, information documenting that serious illness, injury, or other circumstances unavoidably prevented the employee from timely contacting the Medical Review Officer. The Medical Review Officer, on the basis of such information, may reopen the verification, allowing the employee to present information concerning a legitimate explanation for the confirmed positive test. If the Medical Review Officer concludes that there is a legitimate explanation, the Medical Review Officer declares the test to be negative.
(2) If a test is verified positive by the Medical Review Officer, the employee has 72 hours after the Medical Review Officer successfully made and documented a contact with the employee, to ask that Specimen B or a split specimen be tested. The Medical Review Officer shall direct, in writing, the laboratory to provide the split specimen to another DHHS certified laboratory for analysis. If the analysis fails to reaffirm the presence of the drug(s) or drug metabolite(s) found in the primary specimen, or if the split specimen is unavailable, inadequate for testing or untestable, the Medical Review Officer shall cancel the test and report cancellation and the reasons for it to the DOT, the employer and the employee.
E. If a test is verified positive under the circumstances specified in Subsection
D(1) or
(2) of this section, the employee will be notified by the Medical Review Officer, who shall refer the case to the management official empowered to recommend the town's or village's evaluation and disciplinary penalties. (Refer to §
15-17 of this chapter.)
F. All drug and alcohol testing shall be done on town or village time. All town or village employees will be transported by the municipality to and from the test site. Each municipality shall also transport employees who have 0.02 or greater level of alcohol to their place of residence.