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Codified Ordinances of Aurora, Ohio
CERTIFICATION
ROSTER OF OFFICIALS
EDITOR'S NOTE
GENERAL INDEX
COMPARATIVE SECTION TABLE
TABLES OF SPECIAL ORDINANCES
AURORA CHARTER
PART ONE - ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
PART THREE - TRAFFIC CODE
PART SIX - GENERAL OFFENSES CODE
PART SEVEN - BUSINESS REGULATION CODE
PART NINE - STREETS AND PUBLIC SERVICES CODE
PART ELEVEN - PLANNING AND ZONING CODE
PART THIRTEEN - BUILDING CODE
PART FIFTEEN - FIRE PREVENTION CODE
CHAPTER 163
DOT Driver Drug/Alcohol Abuse Policy
163.01   Statement of purpose/policy.
163.02   Definitions.
163.03   Circumstances leading to testing.
163.04   Testing frequencies and patterns under which an employee may be tested.
163.05   Substances to be tested in the urine/breath.
163.06   Detection thresholds for abused drugs and/or alcohol.
163.07   Retention and release of records.
163.08   Prohibitions/consequences.
163.09   Future DOT guidelines-changes, additions and/or deletions.
   163.01 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/POLICY.
   (a)   The City of Aurora has a responsibility to its employees to provide a safe workplace and a responsibility to the public to ensure that their safety and trust in the City of Aurora are protected. To accomplish that goal, the City of Aurora cannot condone and will not tolerate the abuse of controlled substance and/or alcohol.
   (b)   A purpose of this policy and guidelines is to reduce highway accidents that result from driver use of controlled substances and/or alcohol thereby reducing fatalities, injuries and property damage.
   (c)   A purpose of this policy and procedure is to inform all employees affected by the Omnibus Transportation Act of 1994 (hereinafter, the Act, or Act) and relevant Department of Transportation regulations of the policies of this employer in relation thereto.
   (d)   This policy shall be effective as of January 1, 1996. Any and all employees who are required to have a commercial drivers license in order to perform the duties of their position are subject to the policy and procedures set forth herein, and will have their name placed in a random testing pool so that they may be subjected to random drug and alcohol testing.
   (e)   All such drivers are expected to be free of alcohol and drugs while performing the duties of their positions in order to minimize the risk of accidents, injuries and fatalities. Please consult the definition section of this policy for definitions relevant hereto.
   (f)   This policy outlines the minimum Federal Safety Standards set by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to detect and deter the use of controlled substances (Marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, and phencyclidine (PCP) and alcohol).
   (g)   The City of Aurora intends to give individuals suffering from chemical dependencies (i.e., drug dependency) and/or alcohol abuse the same consideration it does to individuals having other diseases. In the case of abuse of drugs and/or alcohol, the City of Aurora will use progressive disciplinary measures. These measures are intended to motivate the employee to seek assistance and will, through its Employee Assistance Program, direct said individuals to the appropriate resources that have been identified in the community. Contractual benefits such as sick leave and the group medical plan are available to aid in the rehabilitation process. If given the nature of the infraction (for example, sale or distribution to other employees or causing a fatality while operating a motor vehicle), or the employee's position is one that requires under law a zero threshold for certain drugs and/or alcohol, the penalty for drug and/or alcohol abuse may be termination of employment and, in certain cases, other sanctions as provided for under the law.
   (h)   The testing of employees' urine, breath, blood and/or other means for drugs and/or alcohol is an effective way to identify those in need of counseling, treatment, or disciplinary action. The testing program is intended to supplement, not replace, other means by which the use of drugs and/or alcohol can be detected.
(Ord. 1995-215. Passed 12-18-95.)
   163.02 DEFINITIONS
   (a)   "Alcohol" means the intoxicating agent in beverage alcohol, ethyl alcohol, or other law molecular weight alcohols including methyl and isopropyl alcohol.
   (b)   "Alcohol Use" means the consumption of any beverage, mixture, or preparation, including any medication containing alcohol.
   (c)   "Breath Alcohol Technician" means an individual trained in the operation of the evidential breath testing device being used to collect breath samples for alcohol testing.
   (d)   "Consortium Testing Pool" means several employers joined together to provide a larger pool of employees from which to choose those to be tested. Each driver included in such pool is a covered employee under the Act.
   (e)   "Controlled Substance" and "Drug" are terms that are used interchangeably in this policy and refer to the same.
   (f)   "Covered Employee" means employees covered by this policy include all drivers who are required to hold a commercial drivers license in order to perform the duties of their position. This includes all part-time, full-time, temporary, seasonal or intermittent employees of the employer.
   (g)   "Employer" and "City of Aurora" are terms used interchangeably in this policy and refer to the same.
   (h)   "Illegal Drugs" are defined as those which are not legally obtainable or those that are legally obtainable but which have been illegally obtained, and include the following: (1) marijuana, (2) cocaine, (3) phencyclidine, (4) opiates, and (5) amphetamines. If the employee has a prescription for such drugs that prescription should be discussed with the Medical Review Officer. Employees using medication prescribed by a medical doctor are required to be aware of the potential effects such medication could have on their ability to perform their job, and are required to report such use to their supervisor if impairment is likely.
   (i)   "Medical Review Officer (MRO)" is a licensed physician (medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy) responsible for receiving laboratory results generated by an employer's drug testing program. The MRO shall have knowledge of substance abuse disorders and have appropriate medical training to interpret and evaluate an individual's confirmed positive test result,together with his/her medical history and any other relevant biomedical information. The MRO will report positive results to the Employer only after verifying that there are no valid medical explanations for the positive result.
   (j)   "Performing (a safety-sensitive function)" means any period in which the driver is actually performing, ready to perform or immediately able to perform any safety sensitive functions.
   (k)   "Positive Test Results" means a test result for the above named drugs which returns positive for any amount of such drugs, such employee will be notified and called to discuss these results with the Medical Review Officer and will be permitted an opportunity to present any information which would explain the positive test result.
   (l)   "Random Selection Procedure" means each employer will provide the Third Party Administrator with identifying information for each covered employee. This information will be entered into a computer program which is designed to randomly select a percentage of such employees for both alcohol and drug testing. Fifty percent (50%) of all employees entered into the testing pool must be selected and tested for the presence of drugs in their system; twenty-five percent (25%) for alcohol.
   (m)   "Refusal to Submit to Testing (to an alcohol or controlled substance test)" A covered employee who, without a valid medical explanation after he or she has received notice of the requirement for testing, (1) fails to, or refuses to submit a breath or urine sample, or who (2) fails to provide adequate breath for testing or who (3) fails to provide adequate urine for controlled substances testing, or (4) engages in conduct that clearly obstructs the implementation of any testing process hereunder. Any covered employee who engages in any conduct described above will be determined to have refused to submit to testing and will be subject to the consequences identified in this chapter.
   (n)   "Testing Procedure" If a covered employee is notified that he has been selected by the computer for random testing he will be advised to present himself at a particular place within a specified time period. If being tested for drugs, the employee will be required to present a urine sample to the medical facility to which he has been sent. The urine sample will be split and one part thereof will be tested for drugs. The other part will be saved for additional testing if requested by the employee. If being tested for alcohol, he will be required to submit to a breathalyzer or other breath testing device.
   (o)   "Third Party Administrator" The several employers have contracted with Robinson Health Affiliates, Inc. to administer the testing for this consortium of employers. Robinson will be contracting with medical facilities to provide for the drug and alcohol testing required by the Act. Robinson will also contract with or employ a Medical Review Officer and a Breath Alcohol Technician to conduct and/or interpret the results. Robinson will contact the employer of any covered employee who is selected for random testing, and will be contacted in the case of other testing as described below. (Ord. 1995-215. Passed 12-18-95.)
   163.03 CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO TESTING.
   All covered employees shall be subject to Drug and Alcohol testing by the third party administrator, Robinson Health Affiliates, Inc., in the following instances and circumstances. The breath test for alcohol will be administered by a Blood Alcohol Technician (BAT) and the drug testing will be administered by split sample urine testing conducted by a qualified laboratory. The urine samples will be gathered at the medical facilities designated by such third party administrator. The test results will be reviewed by a Medical Review Officer who shall discuss the results with the employee prior to advising the employer of the results.
(Ord. 1995-215. Passed 12-18-95.)
   163.04 TESTING FREQUENCIES AND PATTERNS UNDER WHICH AN EMPLOYEE MAY BE TESTED.
   Individuals will be tested for the presence of drugs and/or alcohol under any and/or all of the conditions outlined:
   (a)   Pre-employment. All employees hired to or transferred to covered employee positions shall be tested for the presence of drugs prior to the first instance in which the employee actually performs any driving function for the employer, including those employees already hired who are temporarily excluded from the testing pool and who are then reintroduced into such testing pool.
   (b)   Random. Pursuant to the Act, fifty per cent (50%) of an employer's employees who require a commercial driver's license to perform the duties of their position must be randomly selected and tested for the use of drugs. Additionally, twenty-five per cent (25%) of such employees must be tested for blood alcohol content. This employer has entered into a consortium testing pool in which all of our CDL employees are combined with those from other employers to create a larger base pool for random selection. The integrity of such consortium pool depends upon the cooperation of all such obligated employers.
   (c)   Post-Accident.
      (1)   Post accident drug/alcohol testing will be mandatory in all cases where the following criteria have been met:
         A.   The accident involved the loss of human life, or
         B.   The driver receives a citation under State or local law for a moving traffic violation arising from the accident.
      (2)   Specimen collection will occur immediately after the determination of need has been made (within two hours for alcohol) and in no case will the total elapsed time exceed eight hours for alcohol testing and thirty-two hours for drug testing from the time of the event.
      (3)   A driver who is seriously injured and cannot provide a specimen at the time of the accident shall provide the necessary authorization for obtaining hospital reports and other documents that would indicate whether there were any controlled substances and/or alcohol in his/her system by providing blood samples for alcohol/ drug testing purposes.
      (4)   The City of Aurora shall provide drivers with necessary information and procedures so that the driver will be able to meet the requirement of the preceding paragraph of this section.
   (d)   Reasonable Suspicion Drug Testing. This type of drug and/or alcohol testing shall require a driver to be tested, upon reasonable suspicion, for the use of controlled substances and/or alcohol.
      (1)   A driver shall submit to testing, upon reasonable suspicion for the use of controlled substances and/or alcohol when requested to do so by the City.
      (2)   The questionable conduct which is the basis for the reasonable suspicion need only be witnessed by only one supervisor or other City of Aurora official.
      (3)   "Reasonable suspicion" is the belief that the covered employee has violated the alcohol and/or controlled substances prohibitions, based on specific, contemporaneous, articulable observations concerning the appearance, behavior, speech or body odors of the driver. The mere possession of alcohol does not constitute a need for reasonable suspicion testing, which must be based on observations concerning the driver's appearance, behavior, speech or body odor.
      (4)   The supervisor and/or City of Aurora official must have received training that covered the physical, behavioral, speech and performance indicators of probable alcohol misuse and use of controlled substances.
      (5)   A written record shall be made of the observations leading to a controlled substance test and signed by the supervisor or City of Aurora official who made the observations.
      (6)   Reasonable suspicion testing procedures shall ensure that the driver is transported immediately to a collection site for the collection of the sample.
   (e)   Return-to-Duty Testing. Before a driver who has been temporarily removed from his/her position due to a positive test result or a refusal to perform such tests, returns to duty requiring performance of safety-sensitive and/or driving functions, he/she shall undergo a return-to-duty alcohol test. The test result shall indicate a breath alcohol level of less than 0.02 if the conduct involved alcohol, or a controlled substance test with a verified negative result if the conduct involved controlled substance use before the employee may return to his/her position. Additionally, commercial motor vehicle drivers must be removed from driving for at least 24 hours in addition to having a negative test result before returning to work in a safety-sensitive function.
   (f)   Follow-up Testing. When a covered employee returns to work after a confirmed positive test for alcohol and/or drugs, the driver shall also be subject to unannounced follow-up alcohol and controlled substance testing. The number and frequency of such follow-up testing shall be as directed by the Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) and consist of at least six (6) tests in the first 12 months, and continuing for a period up to sixty (60) months from such return to duty.
      (Ord. 1995-215. Passed 12-18-95.)
   163.05 SUBSTANCES TO BE TESTED IN THE URINE/BREATH:
   (a)   Amphetamines.
   (b)   Marijuana.
   (c)   Cocaine
   (d)   Opiates.
   (e)   Phencyclidine.
   (f)   Alcohol.
   (g)   Detection thresholds consistent with the available technology and consistent with the pre-employment screening thresholds have been established for each of the groups shown above. These detection thresholds will be used uniformly in the interpretation of all post accident drug/alcohol screens. In all cases, the testing will be initially subjected to a screening analysis utilizing FDA approved drug screening reagents and/or Federally approved alcohol testing procedures. In the event that a specimen produces a level above the detection threshold, the specimen will then be subjected to a second level confirmation procedure utilizing gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy and/or Federally approved alcohol confirmation testing procedures. If, and only if, both the screen and the GC/MS are positive and/or the initial and confirmation alcohol tests are positive at or above their respective detection thresholds will the drug and/or alcohol test(s) be considered positive. In the event that the confirmation test(s) fail to confirm the findings of the original screen procedure, the test(s) will be reported as non-detectable, i.e. negative.
(Ord. 1995-215. Passed 12-18-95.)
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