(A) Applicant testing.
(1) All driver applicants will be required to submit to and pass a breath alcohol test and urine drug test as a condition of employment. Job applicants who are denied employment because of a positive test, may reapply for employment after 6 months.
(2) Offers of employment are made contingent upon passing the County Road Department's medical review, including the alcohol and drug test. Driver applicants who have received firm employment offers are to be cautioned against giving notice at their current place of employment, or incurring any costs associated with accepting employment with the County Road Department until after medical clearance has been received. All newly hired drivers shall be on a probationary status for 30 days, contingent upon medical clearance for illicit controlled substance or alcohol usage, as well as other conditions explained in the personnel policies. Under no circumstances may a driver perform a safety-sensitive function until a confirmed negative result is received.
(3) Driver applicant drug testing shall follow the collection, chain-of-custody and reporting procedures as set forth in 49 CFR Part 40.
(B) Owner-operators.
(1) Owner-operators engaged by the County Road Department are not employees of the County Road Department, nor are they to be considered as such under this subchapter. However, every owner-operator engaged to provide services to the County Road Department must agree to, and successfully participate in the county's alcohol and drug testing program. All owner-operator agreements will be entered into by the County Road Department contingent upon the operators' successful completion of urinalysis and breath analysis under all phases of the County Road Department's program, and are contingent upon the owner-operator's continued status as a medically qualified driver.
(2) The term "driver" as used in these procedures includes owner-operators.
(C) Employee drivers. Under all circumstances, when a driver is directed to provide either a breath test or urine sample (Appendix C, which is adopted by reference and can be found in the County Clerk's office) in accordance with these procedures, he or she must immediately comply as instructed. Refusal will constitute a positive result, and the driver will be immediately removed from the safety-sensitive function, and will be subject to further discipline or termination as appropriate.
(1) Suspicion-based testing.
(a) If a driver is having work performance problems or displaying behavior that may be alcohol or drug-related, or is otherwise demonstrating conduct that may be in violation of this subchapter where immediate management action is necessary, a supervisor or dispatcher, with concurrence of the alcohol and drug program administrator, will require that the driver submit to a breath test or urinalysis. The following conditions are signs of possible alcohol or drug use (not all-inclusive):
1. Abnormally dilated or constricted pupils;
2. Glazed stare - redness of eyes (sciara);
3. Flushed face;
4. Change of speech (such as, faster or slower);
5. Constant sniffing;
6. Increased absences;
7. Redness under nose;
8. Sudden weight loss;
9. Needle marks;
10. Change in personality (such as, paranoia);
11. Increased appetite for sweets;
12. Forgetfulness - performance faltering - poor concentration;
13. Borrowing money from co-workers or seeking an advance of pay or other unusual display of need of money;
14. Constant fatigue or hyperactivity;
15. Smell of alcohol;
16. Slurred speech;
17. Difficulty walking;
18. Excessive, unexplained absences;
19. Dulled mental processes; and
20. Slowed reaction rate.
(b) Supervisors or dispatchers must take action it they have a reason to believe 1 or more of the above-listed conditions is indicated, and that the substance abuse is affecting a driver's job performance or behavior in any manner. A supervisor or dispatcher observing such conditions will take the following actions immediately:
1. Confront the employee involved, and keep under direct observation until the situation is resolved.
2. Secure the (DER) designated employer representative's concurrence to observations; job performance and company policy violations must be specific.
3. After discussing the circumstances with the supervisor or dispatcher, the (DER) designated employer representative will arrange to observe or talk with the driver. If he or she believes, after observing or talking to the driver, that the conduct or performance problem could be due to substance abuse, the driver will be immediately required to submit to a breath test or urinalysis. If the driver refuses to submit to testing for any reason, the driver will be informed that continued refusal will result in disqualification from any safety-sensitive function.
4. Employees will be asked to release any evidence relating to the observation for further testing. Failure to comply may subject the employee to subsequent discipline or suspension from driving duties. All confiscated evidence will be receipted for with signatures of both the receiving supervisor, as well as the provider.
5. If upon confrontation by the supervisor or dispatcher, the driver admits to use but requests assistance, the (DER) designated employer representative will arrange for assessment by an appropriate substance abuse professional (SAP). Reassignment to the driver position is conditional to completing the SAP's guidelines and return to work testing.
(c) The supervisor or dispatcher shall, within 24 hours or before the results of the controlled substance test are released, document the particular facts related to the behavior or performance problems, and present the documentation to the (DER) designated employer representative.
(d) The (DER) designated employer representative will remove or cause the removal of the driver from the county-owned vehicle and ensure the driver is transported to an appropriate collection site and thereafter to the driver's residence or, where appropriate, to a place of lodging. Under no circumstances will that driver be allowed to continue to drive a county vehicle or his or her own vehicle until a confirmed negative test result is received.
(e) If, during the course of employment, the driver acknowledges a substance abuse problem and requests assistance, the problem may be treated as if it were an illness, subject to the provisions set forth below:
1. The decision to seek diagnosis and accept treatment for the substance abuse problem.
2. The diagnosis and prescribed treatment of the driver's condition will be determined by health care professionals designated by the (DER) designated employer representative in conjunction with the driver's physician; and
3. The driver might be placed on medical leave for a predetermined period recommended by those medical professionals if the SAP determines that such action is appropriate.
(2) Post-accident testing.
(a) Currently, federal regulations place the burden of compliance with post-accident alcohol and drug testing regulations on the driver. Therefore, all drivers are required to provide a breath test and urine specimen to be tested for the use of controlled substances "as soon as practicable" after an accident. The driver shall remain readily available for such testing or may be deemed by the (DER) designated employer representative to have refused to submit to testing. No alcohol may be consumed for 8 hours after the accident or until a test is conducted. If the driver is seriously injured and cannot provide a specimen at the time of the accident, he or she shall provide the necessary authorization for obtaining hospital reports and other documents that would indicate whether there were any controlled substances in his or her system.
(b) An accident is defined by FHA regulations as an accident which results in the death of a human being bodily injury to a person who, as a the result of the injury, immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene of the accident; or which has had 1 of the vehicles towed from the scene of the accident. Except for a fatality accident, verification of the driver's responsibility in the above accident scenario must be established by a citation to the driver.
(c) Adherence by drivers to post-accident specimen collection requirements is a condition of continued employment. (The failure of an owner-operator to comply with DOT post-accident rules will be considered a breach of his or her contract with the county), and the contract is invalid until appropriate substance abuse professional counseling has been completed.
(3) Random testing. The county will conduct random testing for all covered drivers as follows:
(a) A county-wide selection process which removes discretion in selection from any supervisory personnel will be adopted by the County Road Department. This process could select covered drivers by drawing names out of a hat, or select drivers through the use of a computerized program.
(b) The random testing, once begun, will provide for alcohol testing of at least 10% and for drug testing of at least 50% of all covered drivers.
(c) The random testing will be reasonably spaced over any 12-month period.
(d) Once notified, a driver must proceed immediately to the assigned collection site.
(4) Designation of physician. The (DER) designated employer representative will be responsible for designating the appropriate substance abuse professional who, in conjunction with the drivers' physician, will diagnose the problem and recommend treatment.
(a) The driver's successful completion of the approved treatment program is a condition of continued employment as a driver.
(b) Following successful completion of any approved treatment program, the driver will be required to submit to at least 6 random drug tests during the first year, and follow-up testing may be conducted for up to 60 months. Failure to adhere to this condition is grounds for immediate termination.
(c) All supervisors or dispatchers will receive training to assist them in identifying alcohol and drug use behavioral characteristics.
(5) Return-to-duty testing. Before a driver returns to duty requiring the performance of a safety-sensitive function after engaging in conduct prohibited by this policy and Part 382 Subpart B (FMCS), the driver shall undergo a return to duty alcohol test with a result less than a 0.02 BAT or receive a confirmed negative result from a controlled substance urinalysis test.
(Ord. passed 11-18-1997; Am. Ord. 12-18-2001)