(A) Policy. It is the policy of the city ("employer") that the public has the right to expect persons employed by the municipality to be free from the effects of drugs and alcohol during working hours. An employer has the right to expect its employees to report to work fit and able for duty. In order to further its goal of obtaining a drug and alcohol free workplace, the employer is implementing a drug and alcohol testing program intended to help reduce accidents and casualties in employer's workplace, to help discourage substance abuse, and to help reduce absenteeism, health care cost, drug and alcohol related problems. This program will enhance the safety and health of employees.
(B) Application. This section applies to all employees of the municipality not represented by a collective bargaining agent. This section supercedes the city's personnel code. In the case of conflict, terms and conditions of collective bargaining agreements shall control.
(C) Prohibitions. The employer prohibits the following conduct:
(1) Consuming, possessing or being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs (unless in accordance with duty requirements) at any time during the work day or anywhere on any city premises or job sites, including all employer buildings, properties (except alcohol which is secured in the employee's personal vehicle), vehicles, and while engaged in the employer's business;
(2) Selling, purchasing or delivering any illegal drug or alcohol during the workday or on the employer's premises;
(3) An exception to these prohibitions is provided for alcohol consumption, possessing and selling alcohol at events approved by the City Council.
(D) Discipline. An employee shall be discharged on the first offense if test results are confirmed positive for banned substance usage or abuse; if the employee refuses to provide a breath test and urine specimen; attempts to tamper with or alter the specimen; or fails to cooperate in the testing procedure (including executing all required documentation). An employee shall be suspended without pay for 30 days on the first offense if test results are confirmed positive for alcohol consumption of .04 or more and the employee accepts voluntary referral and treatment from an Employee Assistance Program.
(E) Drug and alcohol testing. The employer shall conduct alcohol and drug testing as prescribed in this section.
(1) Pre-employment testing. All applicants for employment shall be advised of the employer's alcohol and drug testing requirements at the time of interview and shall sign a release and consent authorization form for the tests. All applicants who have successfully completed the employment interview process shall be required to provide a breath alcohol test and a urine specimen as part of his or her background investigation. An applicant for employment shall not be employed if the applicant declines to sign a release and consent authorization form for alcohol and drug testing; refuses to provide a breath test and urine specimen; attempts to tamper with or alter the specimen; fails to cooperate in the testing procedure; or if test results are confirmed positive for banned substance usage or abuse.
(2) Random testing. Employees shall be subject to random drug and alcohol testing. The testing dates and times shall be unannounced and be done with unpredictable frequency. The choice of which employees will be tested shall be made by a third party completely independent from the management of the employer. The annual percentage random testing rate shall be 10% for alcohol testing and 50% for drug testing for employees in positions to which this section applies.
(3) Reasonable suspicion testing. When the management of the employer has reasonable suspicion to believe an employee is under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs during the course of the work day, the employer shall have the right to require the employee to submit to alcohol or drug testing as set forth in this section. The employer shall verbally explain the reason for suspicion at the time the employee is requested to take the test. This shall not preclude the employer from investigating and discovering any additional evidence to present at a discipline hearing. The management of the employer must certify reasonable suspicions concerning the affected employee within 48 working hours of any order to submit to the testing.
(4) Post-accident testing. Post-accident testing is required whenever an employee is involved in an accident while driving a vehicle on business of the employer that involves loss of life, personal injury or a vehicle must be towed and the driver receives a citation under state or local law.
(F) Substances tested. The employer shall conduct alcohol and drug testing as prescribed in this section or as required by law, whichever is more stringent.
(1) Alcohol. Any alcohol test required by the employer pursuant to this section will analyze an employee's breath to test for the presence of alcohol. The alcohol concentration of .04 or more based upon the grams of alcohol per 1,000 ml of blood shall be considered a positive test presumptively concluding the employee is under the influence of alcohol.
(2) Controlled substances. Any drug test required by employer pursuant to this section will analyze an individual's urine to test for the presence of drugs identified in ILCS Ch. 720, Act 550, §3(a), ILCS Ch. 720, Act 570, §§20 et seq., and ILCS Ch. 720, Act 580, §§1 et seq. Any levels detected above those amounts described below shall conclusively deem the employee to be under the influence of a controlled substance or drug. After detection of a controlled substance, a confirmatory test will be conducted by the employer at its expense to determine the level of concentration. Concentrations below levels prescribed below shall not preclude the employer from proving the employee has consumed or is under the influence of drugs.
DRUG CONCENTRATION LEVELS
| |
Initial Test | Initial Test Level (ng/ml) |
DRUG CONCENTRATION LEVELS
| |
Initial Test | Initial Test Level (ng/ml) |
Marijuana metabolites | 100 |
Cocaine metabolites | 300 |
Opiate metabolites | 300 |
Phencyclidine | 25 |
Amphetamines | 1,000 |
Opiate metabolites for free morphine | 25 |
All other controlled substances | 25 |
Confirmatory Test | Confirmatory Test Level (ng/ml) |
Marijuana metabolites1 | 15 |
Cocaine metabolites2 | 150 |
Opiates: | |
Morphine | 300 |
Codeine | 300 |
Phencyclidine | 25 |
Amphetamines: | |
Amphetamine | 500 |
Methamphetamine | 500 |
1 Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9carboxylic acid | |
2 Benzoylecgonine | |
Any changes to drugs identified in ILCS Ch. 720, Act 550, § 3(a), ILCS Ch. 720, Act 570, §§ 20 et seq., and ILCS Ch. 720, Act 580, §§1 et seq. or to concentration levels established by the Department of Health and Human Services levels shall automatically modify the foregoing table. | |
(G) Order to submit to testing. The employer shall verbally explain the reason for testing at the time the employee is ordered to take a test. This shall not preclude the employer from investigating and discovering any additional evidence to present at a discipline hearing. Once ordered to submit to testing, an employee must do so immediately. Within 48 working hours of the time the employee is ordered to submit to the test, the employer shall provide the employee with a written notice of the order, setting forth all of the facts and reasonable inferences drawn from those facts which have formed the basis of the order to test. The employee shall be permitted to consult with a representative of his or her choice within 30 minutes of the time the order is given. No questioning of the employee shall be conducted without first affording the employee the right to representation or legal counsel of the employee's choice. Refusal to submit to such testing will subject the employee to discipline, but taking of the test shall not be construed as a waiver of any objection or rights the employee may have. The right to representation and/or legal counsel shall not delay the time in which the employee must take the test.
(H) Place of testing. An employee required to be tested shall be transported to an appropriate collection facility or testing facility by a management representative of the employer to await collection and testing.
(I) Tests to be conducted. In conducting the testing directed by this section, the employer shall:
(1) Use only a clinical laboratory or hospital facility licensed pursuant to the Illinois Clinical Laboratory Act or is capable of being accredited by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA);
(2) Ensure that the laboratory or facility selected confirms to all NIDA standards;
(3) Establish a chain of custody procedure for both sample collection and testing that will ensure the integrity of the identity of each sample and test result;
(4) Collect a sufficient sample of the body fluid or material from an employee to allow for initial screening, confirmatory test, and a sufficient amount to be set aside reserved for later testing if possible and requested by the employee;
(5) Collect samples in such a manner as to ensure a high degree of security for the sample and its freedom from alteration;
(6) Confirm any sample testing positive in the initial screening for drugs by testing the second portion of the same sample by gas, chromatography, mass spectrometry (gcms) or an equivalent or better scientifically accurate and acceptable method that provides quantitative data about the detected drug or drug metabolites;
(7) Provide the employee tested with an opportunity to have the additional sample tested by a clinical laboratory or hospital facility of the employee's own choosing, at the employee's own expense provided the employee notifies the employer within 72 hours of receiving the results of the tests;
(8) Require the laboratory or hospital facility report to the employer that a blood or a urine sample is positive only if both the initial screening and confirmatory test is positive for a particular drug or alcohol. The employer may discover the test results if below the levels provided in this section should it choose to proceed to prove consumption and/or influence of drugs at levels below the presumption of influence. Should any information concerning such testing or the results thereof be obtained by the employer inconsistent with the procedures described herein, the employer will not use such information in any manner or form adverse to the employee's interests;
(9) Provide each employee tested and his or her representative with a copy of all information and reports received by the employer in connection with the testing and the results; and
(10) Provide that no employee shall be the subject of disciplinary action that is not without just cause.
(J) Right to contest. An employee has a right to file a grievance according to procedures provided in the personnel code concerning any testing directed by this section, contesting the basis for the order to submit to the tests, the administration of the tests, the significance and accuracy of the tests, the consequences of the testing or results or any other alleged violation of this testing section.
(K) Voluntary request for assistance. An employee who voluntarily comes forward to request assistance with drug use or alcohol consumption shall be referred to an employee assistance program, a means by which employees may obtain treatment. All such requests shall be confidential to the fullest extent permitted by law and shall not be used in any manner adverse to the employee's interest except as required for disciplinary action. All requests for employee assistance shall be included in the employee's file for future disciplinary consideration. When an employee voluntarily requests assistance, the employer, in its sole discretion, may determine to retain the employee, reassign the employee if the employee is otherwise fit for duty or suspend the employee without pay if the employee is then unfit for duty as determined in the sole discretion of the employer.
(L) Continued employment. Any employee who voluntarily takes treatment for drug or alcohol dependency shall be subject to periodic, random or reasonable suspicion drug testing, as a condition of continued employment for up to a period of 24 months. Continued employment will also be conditioned upon the employee successfully completing any counseling which may be recommended by the employee assistance program as part of a program to seek the appropriate treatment as determined by any physicians involved. The cost of counseling and treatment shall be borne by the employer, if provided through the employer's sanctioned employee assistance program.
(Ord. 2005-5205, passed 7-19-2005)