Drug and Alcohol Testing

1.0    Purpose

This policy establishes guidelines for requiring employees submit to a drug or alcohol test.

2.0    Revision History

3.0    Persons Affected

3.1    Covered employees include any employees who:

3.1.1    hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and who operate commercial motor vehicles

3.1.2    maintain commercial motor vehicles

3.1.3    work in safety sensitive positions

3.1.4    work in a program area where drug testing is an industry standard

This group of employees is subject to pre-employment, random, post-accident, return-to-duty, and follow-up testing.

3.2    Casper College employees who do not meet the criteria in 3.1 are subject to reasonable suspicion and return-to-duty testing.

3.3    Volunteers are subject to reasonable suspicion and return-to-duty testing.

4.0    Policy

The policy of Casper College is to ensure the following.

4.1    The college provides a safe work and academic environment.

4.2    The college abides by all federal, state, and local laws.

5.0    Definitions

5.1    Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991. This federal legislation requires mandatory drug and alcohol testing for employees holding a commercial driver’s license who operate commercial motor vehicles. This includes pre-employment, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty, and follow-up testing.

5.2    Safety Sensitive Positions. These are college employment positions that the supervisor of the position and the human resources director deem to be safety sensitive and subject to pre-employment, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty, and follow-up testing.

5.3    Controlled Substance. These are prohibited drugs as specified in Schedules I and II of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C.A. § 812, as amended. Schedule I drugs are those which have a high potential for abuse and have no currently accepted medical use in the United States. Schedule II drugs are those which have a high potential for abuse, but have an accepted medical use with severe restrictions. Their use may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. For purpose of this policy, the term “drug” includes any of these controlled substances.

The appropriate use of legally prescribed drugs and non-prescription medications is not prohibited. The misuse of legal drugs while performing job duties is prohibited. The use of any substance that carries a warning label that indicates mental functioning, motor skills, or judgment may be adversely affected must be reported to a supervisor and medical advice must be sought by the employee, as appropriate, before performing work-related duties. While on duty, employees are prohibited from driving while under the influence of any drug which contains a warning pertaining to driving or operating machinery.

5.4    Testing Agency. This is a designated clinic or facility where applicants or employees may present themselves for the purposes of providing a specimen of their urine to be analyzed for the presence of drugs or a collection and analysis of breath for alcohol presence.

5.5    Alcohol Test. An evidential breath tester (EBT) will be used to measure alcohol levels.

5.6    Drug Test. A urine sample will be used to test for controlled substances.

5.7    Passed Test or Test Negative. An alcohol level of less than 0.02 and/or a negative result for a controlled substance is considered a negative result.

5.8    Failed Test or Test Positive. An alcohol level of 0.02 or greater and/or a positive result for a controlled substance is considered a positive result.

5.9    Refusal to Take a Test. Refusal to take a drug or alcohol test includes, not showing up for a test, any conduct that interferes with the testing methodology or prohibits the completion of the test, or adulterating or substituting a sample. Refusal to take a test is considered a failed test.

5.10   Substance Abuse Professional. These trained, credentialed professional have clinical experience in diagnosis and treatment of substance abuse-related disorders. They make recommendation on appropriate education treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.

5.11    Drug and Alcohol Training. This training provides information on the drug and alcohol testing to include, but not limited to, drug and alcohol policy and procedures, the effects of drugs and alcohol on a person’s health, work, and personal life, signs and symptoms of drug use and alcohol abuse, and signs that warrant reasonable suspicion.

5.12    Record Retention. Drug test results are filed in the employee’s confidential records in the Human Resources Department. The college keeps testing results according to the following schedule:

• One Year: Alcohol test results less than 0.02 and negative drug test results.
• Two Years: Education and training records and records related to alcohol and drug collection processes.
• Three Years: Previous employer records.
• Five Years: Annual Management Information Systems reports, employee evaluations and referrals to a substance abuse professional, follow-up tests and follow-up schedules, test refusals, alcohol test results 0.02 or greater, and verified positive drug test results.

6.0    Responsibilities

6.1    The human resources director is responsible for maintaining compliance with this policy and for overseeing the process.

7.0    Procedures
Employees who refuse to take any required testing procedures are subject to disciplinary action.

7.1    Pre-employment Testing

7.1.1    The Human Resources Department makes a conditional offer of employment to a job candidate. If the candidate accepts the conditional offer, the Human Resources Department will obtain a signed consent form authorizing the college access to the test results and schedules a drug and alcohol test for the candidate prior to the candidate’s first day of employment. The Human Resources Department will rescind the employment offer of any candidate who has a positive test result.

7.2    Post-Accident Testing

7.2.1    Human Resources Department schedules a drug and alcohol test for any covered employee who has been involved in an accident in the workplace or while the employee was acting in an official work capacity on or off campus if 1) the accident resulted in a fatality, 2) the employee driving the vehicle is cited for a moving violation, 3) either vehicle is towed from the scene, or 4) someone is evacuated from the scene of an accident for medical reasons.

7.2.2    The employee takes the drug and alcohol test within two hours of the accident, if possible. If testing cannot occur within two hours of the accident, the testing will occur as soon as reasonably possible following the accident.

7.2.3    The college will suspend without pay any employee who has a positive test result.

7.2.4    All employees are subject to return-to-duty testing.

7.3    Random Testing

7.3.1    The college’s testing agency will annually select fifty percent of the covered employees in their group for random, unannounced drug testing. The testing agency will notify the Human Resources Department when a college employee has been selected for random testing.

7.3.2    The Human Resources Department notifies employees selected for random testing after they have reported for duty and schedules the test during the employee’s scheduled workday.

7.3.3    The employee takes the drug test at the scheduled time.

7.3.4    The college will suspend without pay any employee who has a positive test result.

7.3.5    Covered employees are subject to return-to-duty testing.

7.4    Reasonable Suspicion Testing

7.4.1    Supervisors notify the Human Resources Department when they have reasonable suspicion based on direct observation of an employee’s appearance, behavior, speech, or smell that an employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Supervisors must make the observation during the employee’s scheduled workday or immediately prior to or following the workday. Any employee may be subject to reasonable suspicion testing if it is determined there is reasonable basis to believe an employee may be using drugs or alcohol or be under the influence of drugs or alcohol in the workplace.

7.4.2    The Human Resources Department notifies the employee if there is reasonable suspicion that the employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol and that the employee will need to take a drug test. A campus security employee escorts the employee to the testing agency and will ensure that the employee has a means to get home safely.

7.4.3    The college will suspend without pay any employee who has a positive test result.

7.4.4    Covered employees are subject to return-to-duty testing.

7.5    Return-to-Duty Testing

7.5.1    Any employee who has a positive test result may not return to work in a covered position until the employee has completed the following requirements. Any cost associated with these requirements are the employee’s responsibility. Employee may return to work in a non-safety sensitive position.

7.5.2    Undergone an evaluation by a substance abuse professional

7.5.3    Successfully completed any education, counseling, or treatment prescribed by the substance abuse professional prior to returning to work; and

7.5.4    Provided a negative test result for drugs and alcohol

7.6    Follow-up Testing

7.6.1    The Human Resources Department will work with a substance abuse professional to determine the length of follow-up testing for covered employees. Covered employees are subject to a minimum of 6 unannounced drug and alcohol tests for 12 months after returning to work in a covered position. Follow-up testing may continue for up to 5 years. Any cost associated with follow-up testing is the employee’s responsibility. Covered Employees who receive a negative follow-up test are subject to disciplinary action up to termination.

8.0    Training

The Human Resources Department will provide drug and alcohol training to the following employee groups.

8.1    Covered Employees
Training for this employee group should include Department of Transportation regulations regarding prohibited conduct, testing requirements, circumstances, and procedures, what constitutes a refusal to test, consequences of violating DOT rules, information on how drugs and alcohol affect person’s health, work, and personal life, signs and symptoms of drug use and alcohol misuse, counseling contact information.

8.2    Supervisors
Training for this employee group should include prohibited conduct, testing requirements, circumstances, and procedures, what constitutes a refusal to test, consequences of violating policy, information on how drugs and alcohol affect person’s health, work, and personal life, signs and symptoms of drug use and alcohol misuse, counseling contact information. Supervisors must also receive training on reasonable suspicion and reasonable cause for testing including indicators of probable drug and alcohol use.