(A) Testing shall be conducted in such a manner to assure the highest degree of accuracy and reliability, and using techniques, equipment, and laboratory facilities certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services(DHHS). All testing will be conducted consistent with the procedures set forth in DOT regulation 49 CFR Part 40.
(B) All test results for prohibited drugs must be verified by a Medical Review Officer (MRO). The MRO is a licensed physician functioning independent of the city, whose qualifications include a demonstrated knowledge of substance abuse disorders and who has appropriate medical training to interpret and evaluate an individual’s confirmed positive drug result together with his or her medical history and any other relevant biomedical information. All test results must be verified by a qualified breath alcohol technician (BAT).
(C) Any employee may request that a representative be present in certain activities related to the collection of specimens and during administrative review and/or counseling, subject to the conditions imposed by 49 CFR Part 40. The absence of such representations does not, by itself, negate or mitigate the requirement to provide specimens and/or attend such review and counsel in response to required drug and alcohol testing.
(D) Federal regulations impose strict procedural controls and accounting mechanisms upon the collection site processing laboratory, the MRO, and the transit system with respect to testing for prohibited drugs and alcohol. These procedures require the use of tamper-proof specimen containers for urine samples, employee certification of “ownership,” use of chain-of-custody documentation, regimented quality control standards, including blank-air testing for EBT devices and blind samples for urine testing, equipment calibration testing, and specific certification and training standards.
(E) Only confirmatory tests will be used as evidence of prohibited drug use or alcohol misuse. Testing which does not follow criteria outlined in 49 CFR Part 40 must be invalidated, or canceled, and reported as a negative result. As a matter of policy, any urine specimen reported to the MRO as a negative dilute will necessitate a retest. As a further safeguard, an employee who questions a positive result of a required drug test tray request the MRO to perform a second. separate test of the original specimen. The test must be conducted at a different DHHS-certified laboratory and must utilize a split sample that was provided at the same time as the original specimen. All costs for such testing are paid by the employee unless the second test produces a negative result. Inability to pay the cost of split specimen testing will not, however, deny anyone the right to request such testing.
(F) The employee’s request for split specimen testing must be made in writing within 72 hours of notice of the initial test result. Requests after 72 hours will be accepted if the delay was beyond the control of the employee and reason for such delay is acceptable to the MRO.
(G) All test results are treated as confidential medical information. and are handled only by designated personnel within the city who have a specific need to know. Test results are not releaseable except as authorized by the employee concerned, as required by the National Transportation Safety Board during an accident investigation, as directed by the U.S. Department of Transportation or a DOT agency with regulatory authority over the city, or to the decision maker in a lawsuit, grievance, or other proceeding initiated by pr on behalf of the employee.
(H) The employee has the right to review his or her alcohol testing records, provide information to dispute the results, and shall have access to any pertinent record such as equipment calibration records and records of laboratory certifications. Copies of these records shall be made available to the employee upon his or her written request.
(I) The application of this policy with respect to drug and alcohol testing does not abridge anything included in a labor agreement, nor does it infringe upon the employee’s right to redress under grievance, administrative, or judicial proceedings.
(Ord. 1399, passed 3-20-02)