FILE:  GAMEA

Cf:  GAMD, GAMEB, GBRA

 

ALCOHOL AND DRUG TESTING-GENERAL EMPLOYEES

 

 

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

 

The Vermilion Parish School Board has a long standing commitment to maintain the highest standards for employee safety and health.  Therefore, in an effort to promote and maintain a safe, healthful, productive and efficient environment, the Vermilion Parish School Board adopts a policy against controlled substance abuse and alcohol misuse.

 

POLICY

 

The Vermilion Parish School Board does hereby prohibit the possession, use, distribution, or sale of illegal drugs by any full-time, probationary, substitute, or contract employee.

 

Any employee reporting for work in a condition caused by off-duty use of controlled substances and/or the misuse of alcohol  which is determined to affect his/her ability to perform his/her job duties, shall be deemed in violation of the Vermilion Parish School Board’s policy and subject to disciplinary action.

 

POLICY OBJECTIVES

 

  1. To deter and detect the use or possession of alcohol, illegal drugs and unauthorized substances.

  2. To create a safe and healthful working environment for our employees, students and members of the general public.

  3. To protect the reputation of the Vermilion Parish School Board, employees within the community and the State of Louisiana.

 

APPLICABILITY

 

This policy applies to all full-time, probationary, temporary, substitute or contract employees.  Compliance with this policy will be required as a condition of employment for maintenance, food service, paraprofessional and bus monitor personnel.

 

The cost of alcohol and drug testing for full-time, probationary, employees will be borne by the Vermilion Parish School Board.

 

Job applicants will be denied employment with the Vermilion Parish School Board if his/her test results are positive on a pre-employee drug or alcohol test.

 

If an employee’s test results are positive on a post-accident or reasonable cause drug or alcohol test, the employee is subject to disciplinary action as set forth in this policy.

 

An applicant or an employee has the right to a test of the split specimen, at employees or applicant’s expense, within seventy-two (72) hours after the notification by the Medical Review Officer that the results are positive.

 

This policy shall be inapplicable to employees who possess a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) as a condition of employment. These employees are governed by that certain policy adopted by the Vermilion Parish School Board on December 15, 1994.

 

TYPES OF TESTING

 

An applicant for a position in maintenance, food services, para-professional or bus monitor positions shall be subject to a pre-employment drug/alcohol test, as a condition of employment.

 

Post-Accident:  As a condition of continued employment with the Vermilion Parish School Board, any employee involved in an accident which requires medical attention during the course and scope of his/her employment, shall be tested for the presence of drugs and/or alcohol.

 

Reasonable Suspicion or Just Cause:  If a supervisor reasonably suspects that an employee has illegally used drugs or has abused legal drugs or alcohol or otherwise violates this policy, based upon any of the following:

 

  1. observation of drug use;

  2. apparent intoxication;

  3. abnormal or erratic behavior;

  4. investigation, arrest, or conviction of drug-related offenses;

  5. reports from reliable credible sources; or

  6. information from any other reasonable source,

 

the supervisor may direct the employee to undergo a test for the presence of drugs and/or alcohol.

 

DRUGS TO BE TESTED FOR

 

Urinalysis drug testing shall be performed for all of the following classes of drugs:

 

  1. Marijuana (Cannabinoid);

  2. Cocaine;

  3. Opiates;

  4. Amphetamines;

  5. Phencyclidine (PCP); additionally

  6. Tests for alcohol (ethanol) shall be conducted.

 

POLICY DEFINITIONS

 

The following definitions are intended to clarify the prohibited substances and items covered in this policy.

 

Drug – Any chemical substance, including alcohol, that either produces physical, mental or emotions change in the user, or one that is capable of altering the mood, perception, pain level, or judgment of the individual consuming it.

 

Illegal Drug – Any drug which is not legally obtainable or which is legally obtainable, but has not been legally obtained. The term includes prescribed drugs not legally obtained and prescribed drugs not being used for prescribed purposes.

 

Legal Drug – Any prescribed drug or over-the-counter drug or medication which has been legally obtained and is being used for the purpose for which it was prescribed or manufactured.

 

Prescribed Drug – Any substance for which a prescription has been written by a licensed medical practitioner for consumption by the individual for whom it is written or ordered.

 

Look-Alike Drug – A tablet, capsule, powder or liquid containing controlled over-the-counter ingredients whose physical appearance resemble various prescription drug products which contain popular substances of abuse and regulated under the provisions of the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, as amended.

 

Act-Alike Drug – Those chemicals not manufactured to closely resemble controlled substances, but which are promoted in the same way and which contain the same ingredients as a look-alike drug.

 

Designer (Synthetic) Drug – Those chemical substances that are made in clandestine laboratories where the molecular structure of both legal and illegal drugs is altered to create a drug that is not explicitly banned by the federal government.

 

DRUG TESTING POLICY

 

  1. All procedures used in the drug testing program will be performed by a certified Medical Review Officer.

  2. No employee shall refuse to submit to any of the substance testing mentioned in this policy.

  3. No employee shall refuse to submit to Post-Accident or Reasonable Suspicion testing.

  4. All testing shall be in compliance with Title 40, Chapter 15, Section 1501, et seq. of the Administrative Rules of the Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation.

 

DISCIPLINARY ACTION

 

  1. Any employee tested positive for alcohol or drugs will be subject to a Due Process Hearing by the Superintendent or his/her designee.

  2. The Superintendent or his/her designee shall recommend, as a minimum, that the employee undergo alcohol/drug counseling at the employee’s expense and that counseling be regularly documented.

  3. The employee shall undergo a subsequent drug/alcohol test at a time to be determined by the Superintendent or his designee.  If the employee tests negative, he/she shall be allowed to continue with the counseling program until its completion and to retain his/her employment.

  4. If the employee tests positive on the subsequent test, he/she shall be recommended for termination.

 

Adopted:  July 10, 2008

 

 

Ref:    49 USC 5331 (Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991)

49 CFR 10 (Maintenance of and Access to Records Pertaining to Individuals)

49 CFR 40.1 et seq. (Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs)

La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 23:897, 23:1081, 23:1601, 49:1001, 49:1002, 49:1005, 49:1011, 49:1012, 49:1015

United Teachers of New Orleans et al. v. Orleans Parish School Board and Jefferson Parish School Board, et al, 142 F.3d 853

Board minutes, 7-10-08

 

Vermilion Parish School Board