(a) Intent. It is the intent of the Village to establish and maintain a safe, efficient and healthy working environment for all employees and other persons and to reduce absenteeism, tardiness and job problems.
(b) Alcohol. No employee, while performing Village business or while on the premises of the Village, shall use or be under the influence of alcohol. Such use or influence may affect the safety of co-workers or members of the public, the employee's job performance and the operation of the equipment and facilities of the Village. Any employee whose off-duty abuse of alcohol results in excessive absenteeism or tardiness, or is the cause of accidents or poor job performance, will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.
(c) Prescriptions and Medications. Prescriptions and medications may be brought to work only by the person to whom the medication is prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner and shall be used only in the proper manner and quantity prescribed by said physician. The employee must give a list of prescriptions to his or her immediate supervisor. An employee may continue to work while taking prescribed medication only if his or her supervisor determines that the influence of the medication does not pose a threat to the safety of the employee, or to others or property, and that the employee's job performance will not be adversely affected by the medication. Otherwise, the employee may be required to take a leave of absence or comply with other action determined by the Village. The employee's physician may be asked to certify that the use of a prescribed medication is consistent with the safe performance of the employee's job duties.
Any employee whose abuse of prescriptions and medications results in excessive absenteeism or tardiness, or is the cause of accidents or poor job performance, will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.
(d) Illegal Drugs. No employee shall use, sell, purchase, transfer or possess any illegal drug while on Village premises, while in possession of a Village vehicle or during the performance of Village business. Any employee who is found to be in possession of, using, selling or transferring any illegal substance will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination. Also, any employee whose abuse results in excessive absenteeism or poor job performance will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.
Any employee convicted under any Federal or State criminal drug statute must notify the Fiscal Officer, in writing, of that fact within five calendar days of said conviction. Any employee convicted of a work place related drug offense who fails to report the conviction within five days, in writing, to the Fiscal Officer will be:
(1) Terminated from employment;
(2) Forever barred from future employment with the Village;
(3) Held civilly liable for any loss of Federal or State funds resulting from the failure to report the conviction.
(e) Testing for Alcohol and Drugs.
(1) Pre-employment substance abuse screening. Any applicant to the Village for any position may be required to complete appropriate release forms, at the site of said Village's drug collection agency, to be known as Firelands Community Hospital (Corporate Health Services), acknowledging that he or she is willing to submit to a physical examination which will include an eight panel urine drug screen test for drugs of abuse. Refusal to complete the forms will result in rejection of the applicant's employment. It will be the policy of the Village of Put-in-Bay not to hire anyone for any position who tests positive during drug screening unless that person is taking medication prescribed for him or her by a licensed physician or dentist. Individuals who fail to pass the substance abuse screening will be disqualified and will not be considered for employment.
(2) Compliance with request of law enforcement officers for drug screens. Village employees are required to comply with the request of any law enforcement officer to submit to drug screens, whether these be random urine drug screens, breathalyzer tests or blood alcohol or drug tests, following any involving incident or following a motor vehicle incident or accident. Any employee of the Village who refuses to sign the required release forms for such tests or who refuses to cooperate in specimen donation will be subject to discipline, in addition to any penalties of law that may apply. Should any employee test positive for drugs for which he or she has no legal prescription, he or she will not be allowed to return to his or her regular duties but will be subject to a corrective interview with a supervisor and/or the Village and shall begin the disciplinary chain at that point.
(3) Reasonable cause testing. When there is reasonable cause to believe that any employee on duty may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the Village may require the employee to submit to blood alcohol tests, urine drug screens or other appropriate tests. Reasonable cause will be determined by management only after a total evaluation of all the facts and circumstances surrounding the situation. The Village may require testing when an employee has been involved in an accident or injury on Village premises or in a Village vehicle and when any supervisor has a reasonable suspicion that the employee was under the influence of alcohol or drugs of abuse. An employee who refuses to sign the required release forms for such tests or who refuses to cooperate in specimen donation will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination, in addition to any penalties of law that may apply. Should an employee test positive for drugs for which he or she has no legal prescription, he or she will not be allowed to return to his or her regular duties but will be subject to a corrective interview with his or her supervisor and shall begin the disciplinary chain at that point.
(4) Post-accident testing. The Village will require its employees to provide a urine and/or blood specimen for chemical testing following incidents occurring on Village property.
Should an incident occur, the Village supervisor must be notified and the involved employee(s) may be requested to submit to a drug and/or alcohol test.
Should an employee refuse to sign required release forms for such tests or refuse to cooperate in specimen donation, he or she will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination. Should an employee test positive for alcohol or drugs for which he or she has no legal prescription, he or she will not be allowed to return to his or her regular duties but will be subject to a corrective interview with the supervisor and shall begin the referral and disciplinary chain at that point. The employee will be offered the opportunity of referral for evaluation and appropriate professional help. If the employee chooses not to seek professional help, or accepts such help but fails to respond to treatment or to complete the prescribed program, the employee will then be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. If at any time following successful rehabilitation an employee is once re-tested as positive for substance abuse, he or she will be subject to immediate termination.
Should an employee test positive for drugs for which he or she has no legal prescription following a fatal accident, he or she will face immediate termination with no option for assistance.
(f) Treatment and Rehabilitation. Prior to entering a treatment program and as a condition of continued employment upon successful completion of rehabilitation, the employee must sign a "Letter of Conditional Employment" agreeing to random re-testing for a period of up to two years. A positive finding during such period shall be cause for immediate termination.
During approved treatment or rehabilitation for substance abuse, the Village will treat the employee as disabled and shall offer the same benefits as approved for any other disability. Employees granted a medical leave of absence for in-patient treatment will have their file reflect this medical leave without mention of the medical reason. Upon returning to work, the employee will be required to submit to a urine test for drugs of abuse. A negative test is required before the employee may return to regular job duties.
(Ord. 664-96. Passed 8-8-96.)