(A) Training.
(1) The County Fiscal Court shall conduct substance abuse awareness training for all employees.
(2) This substance abuse awareness training shall consist of the following minimum requirements.
(a) Upon a conditional offer of employment from the Court, each applicant shall be provided a copy of and will be asked to read the Court’s drug- and alcohol-free workplace policy. All current employees will also be asked to read and sign the certification of acknowledgment/drug- and alcohol-free workplace policies and procedures form (Appendix A, attached to the ordinance codified herein).
(b) Initial training shall consist of at least one-hour for all employees.
(c) Annual refresher training shall be conducted for all employees in substance abuse awareness and shall consist of no less than 30 minutes.
(d) All alcohol and substance abuse awareness training shall include, at a minimum, information concerning:
1. Alcohol and drug testing policy and procedures;
2. The effects of alcohol and drug use on an individual’s health, work and personal life;
3. The disease of alcohol or drug addiction;
4. Signs and symptoms of an alcohol and drug problem;
5. The role of coworkers and supervisors in addressing alcohol or substance abuse; and
6. Referrals to an employee assistance program.
(e) In addition to all of the above training, all supervisory personnel shall receive an additional 30 minutes each year of alcohol and substance abuse education and awareness training. This additional supervisory training will be documented using, the supervisory training certification certificate. This additional supervisory training shall consist of at least, all of the following:
1. Recognizing the signs of alcohol and substance abuse in the workplace;
2. How to document signs of employee alcohol or substance abuse;
3. How to refer employees to an employee assistance program or other alcohol and substance abuse treatment program; and
4. Legal and practical aspects of reasonable suspicion testing for the presence of drugs and alcohol.
(3) Note: the county’s drug- and alcohol-free workplace policy shall include controlled-access maintenance in the office of the County Judge Executive, of business records including the names and position titles of all employees and supervisory personnel trained under the program as described above, and the names of all persons who presented alcohol and substance abuse awareness training, for review by the Office of Worker’s Claims.
(4) Note: should any portion of this policy dealing with the actual administration of this policy be amended, employees shall be provided with copies of any administrative change or modification and given an opportunity to ask questions and obtain answers regarding any administrative change(s) in this policy. However, changes may not be made to the policy that would circumvent any requirements associated with 803 KAR 25:280.
(5) (a) The county currently utilizes Ensite Laboratory as its laboratory of choice for the collection of urine samples in the case of testing for controlled substances, and for the administration of breathalyzer tests for alcohol concentration. Ensite Laboratory is also the Court’s third-party administrator of choice for the random selection category of testing. Employees are selected by Ensite Laboratory using a statistically valid method of selection of specific employee codes. This random testing will be reasonably spaced over a 12-month period. Because of the random nature of the selection process, any employee may be tested more than once, or not at all. Once collected, all urine samples are forwarded for analysis to Ensite Laboratory, which is a laboratory approved by the National Laboratory Certification Program (NLCP) under the United States Department of Health and Mental Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
(b) The county shall administer alcohol and drug tests in circumstances which include, but may not be limited to, the following.
1. Pre-employment testing.
a. Breath alcohol and urine drug testing shall be required of all new hire applicants after their receipt of a conditional offer of employment. After receiving the conditional offer of employment, applicants will have 24 hours in which to submit to testing at a testing facility of CFC’s choosing. The CFC requires that every newly hired employee test free of controlled substances and have a breath alcohol concentration of not more than 0.00. Each offer of employment by CFC shall be conditional upon the passing of controlled substance and alcohol tests.
b. Refusal by any applicant for employment with CFC to take the controlled substance test will result in the conditional offer of employment being withdrawn. All testing under this policy will be in accordance with testing protocols described elsewhere in this policy.
c. An applicant with a confirmed positive test for controlled substances and/or breath alcohol in a concentration of or greater than 0.00 which is not legitimately explained to and accepted by a medical review officer, will not be considered for employment.
d. Any applicant who fails a controlled substance or breath alcohol test may not be considered for future employment with CFC.
e. Any applicant who refuses to take a controlled substance or breath alcohol test will be disqualified from future consideration for employment.
f. Any applicant who tampers with, or attempts to tamper with, a urine specimen in any manner shall be disqualified from current and future consideration of employment with the CFC.
g. An applicant whose positive test is confirmed and upheld by the medical review officer (MRO) may request that the same sample be retested at her or his own expense at a CFC approved laboratory.
h. Individuals undergoing pre-employment testing shall not begin official employment with the CFC until after all test results are received and shown to be negative. Upon receipt of the test result, positive or negative, the County Judge Executive or his or her designee shall inform the appropriate department head of the results.
2. Random testing.
a. Employees in a safety sensitive position will be required to participate in a statistically valid, unannounced random selection process, which will subject them to mandatory drug and/or alcohol testing. This category of testing will conduct random tests for alcohol at a rate of no more than 10% for non-federally regulated Safety Sensitive positions. Employees holding positions in which a commercial driver’s license (CDL) is required, must also be tested at a minimum rate of 10% for alcohol annually to satisfy Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements. In the ease of random testing for drug use, non-federally regulated safety sensitive positions will be tested at a rate of no more than 10%. Employees holding positions in which a CDL is required, must be tested for drugs at a rate 50% annually to satisfy DOT requirements. All employees in federally regulated safety sensitive positions shall be selected from a pool that is separate from the random selection pool for other non-federally regulated safety sensitive positions. The County Judge Executive shall utilize a third party to conduct the random selection of safety sensitive employees, including employees holding a CDL, to be tested. This random testing shall be unannounced and will take place throughout each calendar year. Safety sensitive employees are selected by a third party administrator using a statistically valid, random method of selection using specific employee codes. Because of the random nature of this testing process, safety sensitive employees may be selected for testing more than once or not at all. Once an employee is notified that he or she has been selected for testing, the employee must proceed immediately to the testing site of CFC’s choosing.
b. Note: employees in non-safety sensitive positions will not be included in the random selection pool. However, non-safety sensitive employees will be subject to testing for other reasons. Procedures and protocols for “reasonable suspicion”, “post accident”, “return-to-duty” and “follow-up” testing all of which testing types are described elsewhere in this policy will apply in their case.
3. Reasonable suspicion testing.
a. A reasonable suspicion test shall be based on a belief that an employee is using or has used drugs or alcohol in violation of this policy, drawn from specific objective facts and reasonable inferences drawn from those facts in light of experience, training or education. The reasonable suspicion testing shall be based upon:
i. While at work, direct observation of drug or alcohol use or of the physical symptoms or manifestations of being under the influence of a drug or alcohol;
ii. While at work, abnormal conduct, erratic behavior or a significant deterioration in work performance;
iii. A report of drug or alcohol use provided by a reliable and credible source;
iv. Evidence that an individual has tampered with a drug or alcohol test during employment with the CFC;
v. Information that an employee has caused, contributed to or been involved in an accident while at work;
vi. Evidence that an employee has used, possessed, sold, solicited or transferred illegal or illicit drugs or used alcohol while on CFC’s premises or while operating CFC’s vehicle, machinery or equipment.
b. The County Judge Executive or his or her designee shall be notified immediately of any indication of reasonable suspicion. Both the observing department supervisor and the County Judge Executive or his or her representative will review the policies and procedures herein and if necessary make arrangements with a testing facility of CFC’s choosing to conduct reasonable suspicion drug and/or alcohol testing as soon as possible. If a representative from the office of the County Judge Executive is not available, the observing supervisor shall obtain the assistance of another CFC supervisor or other credible and reliable source and together they shall complete the reasonable suspicion form, and forward it to the County Judge Executive. If after completing the form, it is determined that there is in fact, reasonable suspicion that the employee is under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, the observing supervisor or his or her designee will notify the employee and accompany him or her to the testing site.
c. When a reasonable suspicion test is ordered, the employee must submit to testing within 45 minutes of being notified that he or she will be tested. The observing supervisor and/or designee shall remain at the testing site with the employee being tested, until the collection process is completed. Any employee who is tested for reasonable suspicion shall be placed on leave with pay until the results of the test are known. After submitting to the drug/alcohol test, the employee may not return to work until the results of the test are known and only then if the results are negative. Only the County Judge Executive or his or her authorized designee may order a reasonable suspicion test.
4. Post-accident testing.
a. Drug and alcohol testing will be conducted following an employee’s involvement in an accident in which property damage occurs, on or off CFC’s premises while on duty, or in the course of employment for CFC, or which requires off-site medical attention be administered to a person.
b. Qualifying event exception: due to varying types of accident cause, all accidents categorized as a “qualifying event” may not require post-accident testing. Exceptions to the “qualifying event” for requiring post-accident drug and alcohol testing will include, but may not be limited to, the following types of accidents:
i. Injuries whose onset is cumulative or gradual - such as carpel tunnel syndrome, progressive hearing loss, mental disorders, dermatitis, respiratory diseases, skin disorders and the like;
ii. Injuries where the employee can be completely discounted as the contributing factor (i.e., injuries caused by a third party or some other uncontrollable force or event such as weather, insects, toxic plants and the like); and
iii. Injuries where the employee can be completely discounted as the major contributing factor or those injuries occurring during physical fitness or a training event, in which the employee did everything within reason to avoid the injury accident, (i.e., was performing training as instructed).
c. In each case, the County Judge Executive or his or her designee shall determine the necessity of drug and alcohol testing and shall communicate such testing with the involved employee and the employee’s respective department head. The County Judge Executive or his or her designee shall coordinate all required tests with the appropriate medical facilities.
d. An employee involved in an accident while on an out-of-town assignment, shall notify their department director or the director’s designee as soon as possible but no later than two hours after the accident occurred. The department director shall notify the County Judge Executive or her or his designee to discuss possible drug/alcohol testing requirements.
e. Other qualifying event: the department director or his or her designee shall request controlled substance/breath alcohol testing when an employee caused or cannot be completely discounted from causing a vehicular or any other type of accident in which death, serious bodily injury or major property damage did result or could have resulted. If a post-accident controlled substance/breath alcohol test is required, a confirmed positive test result will result in the employee’s immediate termination.
5. Return-to-duty testing.
a. The County Fiscal Court maintains a “no tolerance” policy for drugs and/or alcohol.
b. “No tolerance” means that once you are selected for a drug or alcohol test, should your test be positive, without a valid medical or bio-medical reason as confirmed by a medical review officer, you will be immediately terminated from your employment with CFC.
c. Only in circumstances in which the employee voluntarily elects to seek assistance for a substance abuse problem through the employee assistance program prior to being selected for a test, completes whatever form of treatment a substance abuse professional recommends and is willing to sign a return to work/treatment plan agreement, will CFC consider allowing the employee to return to work after treatment is successfully completed as confirmed by a substance abuse professional.
d. In all cases, it shall be at the discretion of the CFC, subject to all applicable laws and regulations, as to whether to allow an employee to return to work. In the event that an employee who has voluntarily sought assistance, prior to being selected for a controlled substance or breath alcohol test is allowed to enter a controlled substance/alcohol abuse rehabilitation program, the employee may be allowed to return to work only under the following circumstances.
i. The employee may resume regular duties only after the employee tests negative in an alcohol and/or controlled substance test administered by the CFC-approved laboratory and can provide a release to return to work from an appropriate substance abuse treatment facility or confirmation of continued and on-going participation in a CFC recognized substance abuse assistance program. An employee must test negative within a reasonable period of time from receipt of the initial test results not to exceed 45 days. Any repeat occurrence of substance abuse or violation of any other aspect of the CFC’s drug free workplace policy will result in immediate termination.
ii. Prior to returning to work, the employee shall be required to meet with the County Judge Executive or his or her authorized designee to receive an explanation of the terms of continued employment; and to sign a written return-to- work/treatment plan agreement, detailing the terms under which the employee will be allowed to return to work. Such agreement shall stipulate that the employee, at the Court’s request, may be required at any time, to submit to interviews and/or evaluation by the professional staff at an appropriate chemical dependency treatment facility approved by the CFC’s employee assistance program (EAP). The return-to-work agreement will also stipulate that the employee be required to submit to unannounced controlled substance and/or alcohol testing for up to 12 months after resuming duties.
6. Follow-up testing. Any employee returning to work from successful completion of an employee assistance program for drug- and/or alcohol-related problems, or a drug and/or alcohol rehabilitation program, shall be required to undergo one year of quarterly drug and alcohol testing. The frequency of the follow-up testing shall consider recommendations of any involved substance abuse professional (SAP) but shall be not less than once per quarter (every three months) for at least one year. All follow-up testing may be requested at any time and shall be unannounced.
(B) Testing protocol.
(1) The collection of samples and administration or drug and alcohol tests shall follow all standards, procedures and protocols set forth by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA). Test results will be obtained by a qualified laboratory, as defined elsewhere in this policy, and results shall undergo a medical review as follows.
(a) All test results shall be submitted for medical review by a medical review officer (MRO) of the county’s choosing, who shall consider the medical history of the employee or applicant, as well as relevant biomedical information.
(b) If there is a positive test result, the employee or applicant will be given an opportunity to report to the MRO the use of any prescription or over-the-counter medication.
(c) If the MRO determines that there is a legitimate medical explanation for a positive test result, the MRO may certify that the test results do not indicate the unauthorized use of alcohol or a controlled substance.
(d) If the MRO determines, after appropriate review, that there is not a medical explanation for the positive test result other than the unauthorized use of alcohol or a prohibited drug, the MRO shall refer the individual tested to the County Judge Executive or his or her authorized representative for further proceedings in accordance with CFC’s drug-free workplace policy.
(2) Note: MRO determinations concerning the use of alcohol or a controlled or illicit substance shall comply with all procedures outlined in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (SAMHSA) Medical Review Officer Manual for Federal Drug Testing Programs.
(C) Testing process.
(1) Employees shall report to the collection site of CFC’s choosing immediately after being provided the notification to test. In the case of reasonable suspicion testing, a supervisor or designee shall escort the employee to the collection site. Drug testing will be conducted by urine sample while alcohol testing will be analyzed using a breath alcohol testing/screening device. Drug and alcohol analysis will be performed by a trained technician.
(2) To ensure that the test specimen is actually that of the donor, collection site staff will require positive identification of the test subject.
(3) To ensure the accuracy and fairness of our testing program, all testing will be conducted according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) guidelines where applicable and will include a screening test; a confirmation test; the opportunity for a split sample; review by a medical review officer, including the opportunity for employees who test positive to provide a legitimate medical explanation, such as a physician’s prescription, for the positive result; and a documented chain of custody.
(4) All drug-testing information will be maintained in separate confidential records.
(5) The County Fiscal Court shall require all tests for alcohol to be performed by a certified breath alcohol technician (BAT). An 11-panel urine test will be conducted and shall include analysis for the following substances:
(a) Amphetamines;
(b) Cannabinoids (THC);
(c) Cocaine;
(d) Opiates;
(e) Phencyclidine (PCP);
(f) Benzodiazepines;
(g) Propoxyphene;
(h) Methaqualone;
(i) Methadone;
(j) Barbiturates; and
(k) Synthetic Narcotics.
(6) Each employee, as a condition of employment, will be required to participate in pre- employment, random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty and follow-up testing upon selection or request of management.
(7) Any employee who tests positive will be immediately removed from duty, referred to a substance abuse professional for assessment and recommendations, required to pass a return-to-duty test and sign a return-to-work agreement, subject to ongoing, unannounced, follow-up testing for a period of five years and terminated immediately if he or she tests positive a second time or violates the return-to-work agreement.
(8) An employee will be subject to the immediate termination of employment if he or she refuses the screening or the test, adulterates or dilutes the specimen, substitutes the specimen with that from another person or sends an imposter, fails or declines to take a second drug test when directed, will not sign the required forms or refuses to cooperate in the testing process in such a way that prevents completion of the test.
(Ord. 21.230-1, passed 7-8-2021)