[Adopted 12-26-1995 by Ord. No. 1602]
The City of Clairton has a commitment to provide a safe and
healthy workplace for its employees and to ensure efficient delivery
of services to the public. The City of Clairton recognizes that, in
order to accomplish this goal, it must implement programs that will
enable the City of Clairton to achieve its objectives in a cost-effective
manner, while respecting the rights of City of Clairton employees.
Statistics show that employees who are substance abusers are absent
from work approximately three times more often than are other employees,
are about 1/3 less productive when they are at work and are twice
as likely as others to have accidents in the workplace. Statistics
indicate that such employees also are more likely to experience serious
medical and emotional problems and to disregard safety policies and
procedures. With this in mind, the City of Clairton must make every
reasonable attempt to establish a work environment that is free, directly
and indirectly, from the adverse effects of drug and alcohol abuse.
The general objectives of the City of Clairton in enacting this
article and policy include the following:
A.
No employee of the City of Clairton shall use, consume, possess,
sell, distribute or receive alcohol and/or illegal drugs or substances
(prohibited substances), nor shall any employee of the City of Clairton
distribute or sell prescription drugs while on or within property
of the City of Clairton and/or engaged in the course of his or her
employment. Violation of these rules by an employee shall subject
the employee to discipline, up to and including discharge, subject
to applicable provisions and procedures of a collective bargaining
agreement, if any. "Illegal drugs and prohibited substances" shall
include prescription medication for which the employee does not have
a valid prescription.
B.
The City of Clairton reserves the right, upon reasonable suspicion
or other good cause, to search lockers situated upon its premises
and made available for use by its employees.
C.
Any employee refusing to consent or cooperate with a reasonable search
or investigation will be relieved of duty and removed from City of
Clairton property or workplace and will be subject to discipline,
up to and including discharge, for insubordination.
D.
Prescription drugs and medications should be kept in their original
container identifying the drug, dosage, date of prescription and physician.
Employees shall notify their foreman or supervisor if they are taking
prescription medications which might impair the employee's working
ability or alertness.
E.
Employees are also expected not to engage in any off-duty or off-premises
drug- or alcohol-related conduct which may affect their work performance.
F.
No employee shall be under the influence of alcohol or of any prohibited substance while upon or within property of the City of Clairton or engaged in his or her employment. Violation of this rule shall subject the employee to discipline up to and including discharge, as set forth in Subsection A above.
The City of Clairton hereby accepts its obligations under the
Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 (Act) and regulations
of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) as they may
be amended. The regulations and Act require drug and alcohol testing
of those employees of the City of Clairton holding commercial driver's
licenses and those persons applying for positions requiring such licenses.
This article is enacted to implement a policy required under said
DOT regulations as presently found in 49 CFR Part 40, which shall
apply without being fully recited herein. Department of Transportation
regulations establish procedures governing the conduct of breath alcohol
testing (BAT), including screening and confirmation tests and establish
standards to be followed by BAT technicians conducting tests under
said regulations, and the City of Clairton expects that breath alcohol
technicians will conduct tests and their operations in accordance
with applicable DOT regulations.
The City of Clairton hereby establishes a mandatory drug and
alcohol testing program as is required under DOT regulations and the
Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991. This policy shall
apply to all employees of the City of Clairton holding commercial
driver's licenses and to all persons applying for employment
positions with the City of Clairton which require commercial driver's
licenses. Testing shall include breath alcohol and urine testing.
Testing samples shall be analyzed for at least the following substances:
alcohol, marijuana (THC metabolite), cocaine, amphetamines, opiates
(including heroin) and phencyclidine (PCP), subject to future amendment
of DOT regulations. All such testing shall be conducted in accordance
with the provisions of this policy.
Drug and alcohol testing required under this policy shall be
as follows:
A.
Preemployment testing. All applicants for employment positions with
the City of Clairton shall be tested for alcohol and drugs prior to
commencing employment with the City of Clairton. A driver applicant
testing positive for alcohol or drugs will not be considered for employment
with the City of Clairton.
B.
Random testing. Each year commencing in 1996, the City of Clairton
shall use a random process based upon social security numbers to select
at least 50% of its employees holding commercial driver's licenses
(CDL drivers), who shall be tested for the use of controlled substances.
Additionally, at least 25% of City of Clairton CDL drivers shall be
randomly tested for alcohol use in the first year of this policy.
The annual alcohol testing rate in future years shall, under DOT regulations,
be based upon the percentage of violations (defined as alcohol tests
of 0.04% or greater and refusals to test) in the preceding year, such
rate to be either 10%, 25% or 50%. Drivers selected on a random basis
for drug abuse testing shall be required to supply a urine sample.
Drivers selected on a random basis for alcohol testing shall be required
to undergo breath alcohol testing. Notification of random testing
will be given to employees immediately prior to the testing; should
an employee not be present at the time he or she is selected, notification
will be given to the employee upon his or her return to the workplace.
C.
Periodic testing. Should annual or periodic medical examinations
of CDL drivers become mandatory, the City of Clairton will test each
driver for drug and/or alcohol use during such annual or periodic
medical examination.
D.
Reasonable suspicion testing. Reasonable suspicion testing shall
be conducted when a trained supervisor observes behavior or appearance
of an employee subject to this policy which is characteristic of alcohol
misuse. Conduct giving rise to reasonable suspicion under this subsection
must be witnessed by a supervisor of the employee who has received
training in detection of probability of drug or alcohol use by observation
of a person's behavior.
E.
Mandatory post-accident testing.
(1)
Drivers shall be subject to drug and alcohol testing as soon as is
practicable after a commercial vehicle accident. For purposes of this
subsection, an "accident" is defined as a collision involving either:
(a)
A fatality;
(b)
Bodily injury to any person which requires that person to be
transported from the collision scene for medical treatment;
(c)
Damage to any vehicle which requires that vehicle to be towed
from the scene; or
(d)
The driver's receipt of a citation for a moving violation
of state or local law arising from the collision.
(2)
In no case shall an alcohol test required under this subsection be
conducted later than eight hours after the collision, nor shall a
drug test required under this subsection be conducted later than 32
hours after the collision. No driver subject to testing under this
subsection shall consume alcohol from the time of the incident until
such time as the tests required have been conducted. If, as a consequence
of a collision, a CDL driver is seriously injured and cannot provide
a specimen at the time of the collision as set forth above, the employee
must provide the necessary authorization to the City of Clairton to
obtain hospital records and other documents which would indicate whether
there were any prohibited substances or alcohol in the employee's
system at the time of the collision and/or post-collision testing.
F.
Follow-up testing. Any CDL driver who has returned to duty after
a positive alcohol or drug test shall be subject to unannounced follow-up
drug and alcohol testing for a period of up to 60 months following
the employee's return to duty. A minimum of six unannounced follow-up
tests must be conducted in the first 12 months after the employee
returns to duty, and the City of Clairton or its designee may require
unannounced follow-up tests continuing for a period of up to 60 months
following the employee's return to duty.
G.
Return-to-duty testing. Should the City of Clairton offer a CDL driver
reemployment or a return to duty after the CDL driver has been referred
to an alcohol and/or substance abuse professional for treatment and
the CDL driver has participated in all recommended treatment, the
CDL driver shall be tested for alcohol and prohibited substances prior
to being returned to duty and, to be eligible to return to duty and
employment, the CDL driver must test negative for both alcohol and
prohibited substances.
Employees shall appear at the proper facility and submit for
testing required under this policy within two hours after being notified
that they are obligated to submit for such random, reasonable suspicion,
post-accident, follow-up or return-to-duty testing.
A.
Refusal by an employee to submit to drug and alcohol testing required
under this policy shall subject the employee to discipline, up to
and including discharge at the discretion of the City of Clairton.
B.
Refusal by an employee to submit to testing required under this policy
shall be deemed to include any act or omission which prevents, thwarts
or frustrates the objectives of this policy and the requirements imposed
under DOT regulations, including but not limited to the following:
(1)
Refusal to submit in a timely fashion to testing as required under
this policy;
(2)
Refusal or failure by the employee to complete, sign or initial the
required breath alcohol testing form;
(3)
Refusal or failure, without good cause, to provide breath;
(4)
Refusal or failure, without good cause, to provide an adequate amount
of breath to allow proper testing; and/or
(5)
Failure or refusal to otherwise cooperate with the testing process
in a way which prevents the completion of the test.
C.
In accordance with 49 CFR 40.69, should the City of Clairton be advised
that a CDL employee has attempted and failed to provide an adequate
amount of breath, the City of Clairton, itself or through its designee,
shall direct the employee to obtain, as soon as practical after the
attempted provision of breath, an evaluation from a licensed physician
who is acceptable to the Board, concerning the employee's medical
ability to provide an adequate amount of breath.
(1)
If the physician determines, in his or her reasonable medical judgment,
that a medical condition has or, with a high degree of probability,
could have precluded the employee from providing an adequate amount
of breath, the employee's failure to provide an adequate amount
of breath shall not be deemed a refusal to take a test. The physician
shall provide to the City of Clairton a written statement of the basis
for his or her conclusion.
(2)
If the licensed physician, in his or her reasonable medical judgment,
is unable to make the determination set forth above, the employee's
failure to provide an adequate amount of breath shall be regarded
by the City of Clairton as a refusal to take a test, in which event
the employee shall be subject to discipline up to and including discharge
for refusal to submit to testing. The licensed physician shall provide
to the City of Clairton a written statement of the basis for his or
her conclusion.
The City of Clairton hereby adopts for use in conducting the
drug and alcohol testing program established under this policy such
forms as are prescribed by the United States Department of Transportation
and/or licensed testing establishments.
A.
Should an employee's behavior or appearance suggest to his or
her supervisor misuse of alcohol or prohibited substances and a test
cannot be administered immediately, the employee shall be removed
from performing safety-sensitive duties for at least eight hours,
and for 24 hours in the case of CDL drivers.
B.
Employees who have any alcohol concentration (defined as 0.02% or
greater) in their breath when tested just before, during or after
performing safety-sensitive functions shall be removed from performing
such duties for eight hours and, in the case of CDL drivers, for at
least 24 hours, or until another breath test is administered and the
result is less than 0.02%.
C.
Should a CDL driver's test results be positive for alcohol and/or
drugs, the employee shall not engage in the following activities until
such time as the employee submits to another test which indicates
the absence of alcohol and prohibited substances in the employee's
system:
The City of Clairton shall notify its CDL drivers and driver
applicants of the results of tests conducted pursuant to this policy.
Those persons testing positive for alcohol and/or prohibited substances
shall also be advised specifically as to what drugs or amount of alcohol
was or were discovered present in their system in the testing.
Whenever a CDL employee subject to this policy receives a prescription,
a form should be completed by the employee's attending or prescribing
physician and provided to the employee, stating whether or not the
medication will affect the individual's driving ability and whether
the prescribed medication would appear or be reflected on a drug test.
An employee whose results of drug and alcohol testing under
this policy establish existence in the employee's body system
of an alcohol content of 0.04% or of a prohibited drug or substance
shall be deemed to have violated the City of Clairton's policy
regarding alcohol and drug abuse. Upon the first such positive test
result, an employee shall be referred to mandatory alcohol and/or
drug rehabilitation treatment. An employee who participates as required
in such treatment program and who successfully completes follow-up
or return-to-duty testing shall be returned to employment without
further discipline. An employee who refuses or fails to participate
as required in referred rehabilitation treatment shall be subject
to further discipline, up to and including discharge, and shall not
be returned to duty. Any further instance of positive test results
for alcohol and/or prohibited substances as defined above or an employee's
failure to submit to testing as defined above shall subject the employee
to discipline, up to and including discharge.
A.
All records relating to administration and results of the City of
Clairton's alcohol and drug testing program shall be maintained
by the City of Clairton for a minimum of five years, subject to the
requirements of 49 CFR 40.83.
B.
The City of Clairton shall retain a Medical Review Officer who shall
be a licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathy with knowledge of drug
abuse disorders, to interpret results of alcohol and drug testing
in accordance with DOT regulations.
C.
The City of Clairton shall be the sole custodian of individual test
results and shall retain reports of test results for a minimum of
five years.
D.
The City of Clairton shall retain in a CDL driver's personnel
file information indicating only the following:
E.
The City of Clairton shall also maintain an annual (calendar) year
summary of the records related to the administration and results of
the testing program for its drivers under DOT regulations.
No person may obtain the individual test results retained by
the City of Clairton, and no results shall be released to any person
or entity, without first receiving written authorization from the
tested individual, unless otherwise required by law.
A.
The City of Clairton shall establish an employee assistance program
which shall include the following:
(1)
An educational and training component for drivers, addressing alcohol
and controlled or prohibited substances.
(2)
An educational and training component for supervisory personnel,
addressing alcohol and controlled substances.
(3)
A written statement on file and available for inspection, outlining
the City of Clairton employee assistance program.
B.
The employee assistance training program for all CDL drivers and
supervisory personnel will consist of at least 60 minutes of training,
and the training program shall include the following elements:
(1)
Effects and consequences of alcohol and/or controlled substance use
on personal health, safety and the work environment.
(2)
The manifestations and behavioral causes that may indicate alcohol
and/or controlled substance use or abuse.
(3)
Documentation of training given to drivers and supervisory personnel.
This policy and other documents executed or delivered pursuant
to or in connection with this policy are not intended to confer any
contractual rights or claims in favor of City of Clairton employees.
Any failure to implement the policy or any part thereof or any variation,
addition or omission to or of the procedures set forth in the policy
shall not confer any contractual or other right or claims in favor
of the employees which are not otherwise conferred by law.
The City of Clairton reserves the right to add to, change or
modify this policy at its sole discretion, and to discipline or discharge
any employee at any time, except if those rights are restricted by
law or by any applicable collective bargaining obligation or agreement.
The City of Clairton accepts no liability in the event of any alleged
breach of any of the procedures or provisions set forth in this policy.
The City of Clairton encourages every employee to voluntarily
comply with this policy for his or her own safety as well as the safety
of others. Because of its importance, the City of Clairton shall take
all necessary steps to ensure implementation of and compliance with
the policy.
This policy will be limited by any applicable federal or state
law or regulations and by municipal ordinances, and by applicable
collective bargaining agreements. Any portion of this policy which
directly conflicts with such a law, ordinance, regulation or agreement
will not be implemented in that jurisdiction or bargaining unit, but
shall be severable and shall not affect the validity or enforcement
of the remainder of the policy.
