(A) Testing policy.
(1) Any city employee in a safety-sensitive position will be required to participate in city’s alcohol and drug testing program as mandated by the Department of Transportation.
(2) The goals of the city’s alcohol and drug testing policy are to ensure a drug and alcohol-free work environment, and to reduce and help eliminate drug- and alcohol-related accidents, fatalities, and property damage.
(3) All applicants for safety-sensitive positions will be notified of the city’s drug and alcohol use and testing policy at the time they apply. They will be required to pass an alcohol and drug test before becoming employed by the city.
(4) A CDL driver must maintain his or her CDL license status or he or she will be terminated.
(B) Post-accident testing.
(1) Any employee in a safety-sensitive position must submit to a post-accident drug and alcohol test as soon as possible after an accident, whenever:
(a) He or she receives a citation for a moving violation involving the accident;
(b) Either a person is injured because of the accident and the injuries require immediate medical treatment to the person away from the accident scene; or
(c) One or more motor vehicles involved in the accident incur disabling damage and must be transported away from the accident scene by a tow truck or another vehicle. (A supervisor on the scene can ask the employee to submit to drug and or alcohol test if the supervisor believes the situation warrants one, even if there is no personal injury or disabling vehicle damage.) Note: the police can also request that a test be done following an accident.
(2) An employee who is required to take a post-accident drug and alcohol test will, at the city’s discretion, either be assigned to a position that is not classified as a safety-sensitive position, or placed on non-disciplinary suspension with pay while awaiting the post-accident test results.
(3) An employee who tests positive for drugs and/or alcohol, or who refuses or fails to submit to a post-accident drug and alcohol test, will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including discharge.
(C) Random testing—safety sensitive position.
(1) The city is required to test employees in safety-sensitive positions on a random basis, and all such tests will be unannounced. Every employee in a safety-sensitive position will have an equal chance of being selected every time the selection is conducted. Appropriate safeguards are also present to ensure that the identity of the individual drivers cannot be determined before or at the time of their selection. When an employee in a safety-sensitive position is randomly selected to be tested, he or she will be notified and instructed to report to the collection site immediately.
(2) An employee in a safety-sensitive position who tests positive for drugs and/or alcohol, or who refuses or fails to submit to a random drug and/or alcohol test, will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including discharge.
(D) Reasonable suspicion testing.
(1) Each employee in a safety-sensitive position is required to submit to a drug and alcohol test whenever the city has reasonable suspicion to believe that such employee has used drugs and/or alcohol in violation of DOT regulations and/or this policy.
(2) Reasonable suspicion will exist when an employee’s appearance, behavior, speech, or body odors indicate drug or alcohol use, or the withdrawal effects of drugs. Such observations must be personally observed and documented by at least one city official who has received training covering the physical, behavioral, speech, and performance indicators of probable drug and alcohol use. (If the trained individual is not available, the supervisor who observes the impairment will use his or her best judgment to determine whether a test is necessary.)
(3) An employee in a safety sensitive position who is required to submit to a reasonable suspicion test will be escorted by his or her supervisor to the appropriate specimen collection site for the drug and alcohol test.
(4) The supervisor will arrange the transportation of the employee home at the completion of the test.
(5) An employee in a safety sensitive position who is required to take a reasonable suspicion test will be considered by the city as unqualified to work and placed on immediate suspension, without pay, pending the results of the test. An employee in a safety sensitive position whose test results are positive will not be reimbursed for the time of the suspension.
(6) An employee in a safety sensitive position who tests positive for drugs and/or alcohol, or who refuses or fails to submit to a reasonable cause drug and alcohol test, will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including discharge.
(7) If the employee in a safety sensitive position tests positive for drugs or alcohol, he or she will be required to reimburse the city for the cost of testing.