In accordance with the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1994 and other applicable law, Village of Seneca requires employees in safety-sensitive positions and applicants for safety sensitive positions to submit to mandatory drug and alcohol testing pursuant to this policy. Applicants for non-safety-sensitive positions may be required to submit to pre-employment testing. All employees are subject to random drug and alcohol testing.
Safety-sensitive positions are those positions where there exists a high risk of injury to others with disastrous consequences if the employee has even a momentary lapse of attention. Some examples of safety-sensitive positions include law enforcement personnel, employees who transport passengers, and employees who operate large or heavy equipment.
Under this policy, employees in safety-sensitive positions specifically include all employees whose positions may involve driving a Village-owned vehicle and that require the possession of a CDL. For purposes of this policy, a Village-owned vehicle means a vehicle that either: (i) has a gross weight of over 26,000 pounds (including combined weight if towed unit weighs over 10,000 pounds); (ii) is designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver; or (iii) is used to transport hazardous materials.
An employee is considered to be "driving a Village-owned vehicle" under this policy if he or she is performing any safety sensitive function defined in 49 CFR 382.107, which includes all time working in a position requiring a CDL.
With respect to employees who work in a position requiring a CDL, alcohol testing for reasonable suspicion may be conducted just before, during, or after an employee operates a Village-owned vehicle.
A. Drug and Alcohol Testing for Safety-Sensitive Positions. Employees in safety-sensitive positions are subject to drug and alcohol testing under different and additional circumstances than employees who are not in safety sensitive positions.
1. Reasonable Suspicion - Any employee in a safety-sensitive position shall submit to a drug and/or alcohol test when any supervisor has reasonable suspicion to believe that an employee has been using illegal drugs, abusing prescribed drugs, is under the influence of alcohol or cannabis, or is consuming alcohol or cannabis while working or while on call.
Testing for cannabis based on reasonable suspicion shall be supported by the good faith belief that there is some impairment of the employee while at the workplace, while engaged in work for the employer or while on call subject to the definition of those terms in the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, 410 ILCS 705/10-50. If an employee is removed from duty based on reasonable suspicion of alcohol use and an alcohol test is not administered within eight hours, the employee will not be allowed to perform or continue to perform safety-sensitive functions until: (i) an alcohol test determines that the employee's breath alcohol concentration measures less than .02; and (ii) 24 hours have elapsed following the determination that there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the employee has been using alcohol.
2. Post-Accident Testing Involving a Village-owned Vehicle - An employee is required by law and this policy to submit to an alcohol test whenever he or she is involved in an accident while driving a Village-owned vehicle on a public road which results in: (i) a fatality; (ii) bodily injury to a person who, as a result of the injury, immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene of the accident; and/or (iii) one or more motor vehicles incurring disabling damage requiring the vehicle to be transported away from the scene by a tow truck or other vehicle.
Post-accident testing for cannabis shall be supported by the good faith belief that there is some impairment of the employee while at the workplace, while engaged in work for the employer or while on call subject to the definition of those terms in the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, 410 ILCS 705/10-50.
3. Post-Accident Testing Involving Village-owned Equipment - An employee is required by this policy to submit to an alcohol test whenever he or she is involved in an accident while using Village-owned employment which results in: (i) a fatality; or (ii) bodily injury to a person and (iii) there is a good faith belief that the employee was using alcohol while at the workplace.
4. Return to Duty Testing - Any employee who has violated this policy and/or has tested positive on a drug or alcohol test and is subsequently permitted to return to work, must pass a drug and/or alcohol test in accordance with this policy prior to returning to duty.
5. Follow-Up Testing - An employee in a safety-sensitive position who is referred for assistance related to alcohol and/or drug abuse is subject to unannounced followup testing for a period not to exceed 60 months as directed by a substance abuse professional and Village of Seneca. The number and frequency of follow-up tests will be determined by the substance abuse professional and Village of Seneca but will not be less than six tests in the first 12 months following the employee' s return to duty.
For purposes of this policy, a substance abuse professional is a licensed physician, or a licensed or certified psychologist, social worker, employee assistance professional, or addiction counselor (certified by the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors Certification Commission) with knowledge of and clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol and drug-related disorders.
B. Pre-Employment Drug Testing. Employees in safety-sensitive positions must pass a drug test as a post-offer condition of employment. Employees in non-safety sensitive positions may be required to take and pass a drug test as a post-offer condition of employment. Failure to successfully pass a post-offer preemployment drug test may result in the offer of employment being revoked. An applicant who is denied employment because of a positive drug test may not reapply for employment with Village of Seneca for a period of six months.
C. Random Drug and/or Alcohol Testing. Employees may be randomly selected to submit to drug and/or alcohol testing. The process will be unannounced, and employees shall be selected in a non-discriminatory manner. After an employee is notified that he or she has been selected for random testing, the employee shall be required to report immediately to the testing location no later than one hour after notification. Upon arrival at the testing location, the employee must identify him or herself by use of a photo identification card and present any applicable documentation. Upon completion of the drug and/or alcohol testing, the employee will, if his or her shift is not completed, immediately return to duty status. (Ord. 20-03, 2-18-2020)