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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution #3555RESOLUTION NO. 3555 A RESOLUTION APPROVING DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Canton, Illinois has reviewed the terms of the Agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibit A; and, WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Canton, Illinois has determined that it is in the best interest of the City of Canton to approve said Agreement. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CANTON, Fulton County, Illinois as follows: 1. That the Agreement, which is attached hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibit A, is hereby approved, said agreement to be subject to and effective pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth therein. 2. That the Mayor and City Clerk of the City of Canton, Illinois are hereby authorized and directed to execute and deliver said Agreement on behalf of the City of Canton. 3. That this Resolution shall be in full force and effect immediately upon its passage by the City Council of the City of Canton, Fulton County, Illinois and approval by the Mayor thereof. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Canton, Fulton County, Illinois, at a regular meeting this hth day of February, 2001, upon a roll call vote as follows: AYES: Aldermen Molleck, Hartford, Sarff, Phillips, Nidiffer, Meade, Shores, May. NAYS: None . ABSENT: None . APP OVED: Donald E. dwards, Mayor Attest: ancy Whites ity Jerk •~ i- S-o/ DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES The procedures outlined in this document for drug and alcohol testing shall be covered by all other applicable articles of the labor agreement between the Canton Fire Department and the Canton Fire Fighters, Local #1897, IAFF. Section 1. Policy: The Canton Fire Department and the Canton Fire Fighters, Local #1897 IAFF, recognize that drug use by employees would be a threat to the public welfare and the safety of department personnel. It is the goal of this policy to eliminate or absolve illegal drug usage through education and rehabilitation of the affected personnel. The possession, use or being under the influence of alcoholic beverages or unauthorized drugs shall not be permitted at the Employer's work sites and/or while an employee is on duty. Section 2. Informing Employees About Drug and Alcohol Testing: All employees shall be fully informed of the Fire Department's drug and alcohol testing policy. Employees will be provided with information concerning the impact of the use of alcohol and drugs on job performance. In addition, the Employer shall inform the employees on how the tests are conducted, what the test can determine and the consequence of testing positive for drug and alcohol use. All newly hired employees will be provided with this information on their initial date of hire. No employee shall be tested before this information is provided to him/her. Prior to any testing, the employee will be required to sign the attached consent and release form. Employees who voluntarily come forward and ask for assistance to deal with a drug or alcohol problem shall not be disciplined by the Employer. No disciplinary action will be taken against an employee unless he/she refuses the opportunity for rehabilitation, fails to complete a rehabilitation program successfully, or again tests positive for drugs within two (2) years of completing an appropriate rehabilitation program. Section 3. Employee Testing: Employees shall not be subjected to random medical testing involving urine or blood analysis or other similar or related tests for the purpose of discovering possible drug or alcohol abuse. If, however, there is a reasonable suspicion to believe an employee's work performance is impaired due to drug or alcohol abuse, the Employer will require the employee to undergo a medical test consistent with the conditions as set forth in this Policy. This reasonable suspicion may be based on but not limited to the following: Involvement in an fatal or serious bodily injury accident or in an accident involving substantial damage (exceeding $50,000.00); or An observable phenomena, such as direct observation of drug/alcohol use or the physical symptoms of being under the influence of a drug/alcohol; or A pattern of abnormal conduct or erratic behavior; or An arrest and conviction of a drug related offense; or Information provided by reliable and credible sources that have been independently corroborated. Section 4. Sample Collection: The collection and testing of the samples shall be performed only by a laboratory and by a physician or health care professional qualified and authorized to administer and determine the meaning of any test results. The laboratory performing the test shall be one that is certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The laboratory chosen must be agreed to between the Union and the Employer. The laboratory used shall also be one whose procedures are periodically tested by SAMHSA where they analyze unknown samples sent to an independent party. The results of employee tests shall be made available to the Medical Review Physician. The laboratory selected for the testing is Methodist Hospital Laboratory. Collection of blood or urine samples shall be done at either the Coleman Clinic Laboratory or the Graham Hospital Laboratory, and shall be conducted in a manner, which provides the highest degree of security for the sample and freedom from adulteration. Recognized strict chain of custody procedures must be followed for all samples as set by SAMHSA. The Union and the Employer agree that security of the biological urine and blood samples is absolutely necessary, therefore, the Employer agrees that if the security of the sample is compromised in any way, any positive test shall be invalid and may not be used for any purpose. Blood or urine samples will be submitted as per SAMHSA Standards. Employees have the right for Union or legal counsel representatives to be present during the submission of the sample so long as it does not unreasonably delay the testing required by the employer. A split sample shall be reserved in all cases for an independent analysis in the event of a positive test result. All samples must be stored in a scientific acceptable preserved manner as established by SAMHSA. All positive confirmed samples and related paperwork must be retained by the laboratory for at least six (6) months or for the duration of any grievance disciplinary action or legal proceedings, whichever is longer. At the conclusion of this period, the paperwork and specimen shall be destroyed. Tests shall be conducted in a manner to ensure that an employee's legal drug use and diet does not affect the test results. Section 5. Drug Tenting: The laboratory shall test for only the substances and within the limits for the initial and confirmation test as provided within SAMHSA standards. The initial test shall use an immunoassay, which meets the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration for commercial distribution. The following initial cutoff levels shall be used when screening specimens to determine whether they are negative for these five drugs or classes of drugs: Marijuana metabolites 50 ng/ml Cocaine metabolites 300 ng/ml Opiate metabolites 1 300 ng/ml Phencyclidine 25 ng/ml Amphetamines 1,000 ng/ml 1 If immunoassay is specific for free morphine the initial test level is 25 ng/ml. If initial testing results are negative, testing shall be discontinued, all samples destroyed and records of the testing expunged from the employee's file. Only specimens identified as positive on the initial test shall be confirmed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) techniques at the following listed cutoff values. Marijuana metabolites 1 15 ng/ml Cocaine metabolites 2 150ng/ml Opiates: Morphine 300 ng/ml Codeine 300 ng/ml Phencyclidine 25 ng/ml Amphetamines: Amphetamine 500 ng/ml Methamphetamine 3 500 ng/ml 1 Delfa-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid 2 Benzoylecgonine 3 Specimen must also contain amphetamine at a concentration of > 200 ng/mL. If confirmatory testing results are negative all samples shall be destroyed and records of the testing expunged from the employee's file. Section 6. Alcohol Testing: A breathalyzer or similar test equipment shall be used to screen for alcohol use and if positive shall be confirmed by a blood alcohol test performed by the laboratory. This screening test shall be performed by an individual qualified through and utilizing equipment certified by the Illinois State Police. An initial positive alcohol level shall be .04 grams per 210 L. of breath. If initial testing results are negative, testing shall be discontinued, all samples destroyed and records of the testing expunged from the employee's file. If initial testing results aYe positive, the test shall be confirmed using a blood alcohol level. Sampling handling procedures, as detailed in Section 4, shall apply. A positive blood alcohol level shall be .04 grams per 100 ml of blood. If confirmatory testing results are negative all samples shall be destroyed and records of the testing expunged from the employee's file. Section 7. Medical Review Physician: The Medical Review Physician shall be chosen and agreed upon between the Union and the Employer and must be a licensed physician with a knowledge of substance abuse disorders. The Medical Review Physician shall be familiar with the characteristics of drug tests (sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value), the laboratories running the tests and the medical conditions and work exposures of the employees. The role of the Medical Review Physician will be to review and interpret the positive test results. The Medical Review Physician must examine alternate medical explanations for any positive test results. This action shall include conducting a medical interview with the affected employee, review of the employee's medical history and review of any other relevant biomedical factors. The Medical Review Physician must review all medical records made available by the tested employee when a confirmed positive test could have resulted from legally prescribed medication. The Medical Review Physician shall be Dr. John H. Day _ Section 8. Laboratory Results: The laboratory will advise only the employee and the Medical Review Physician of any positive results. The results of a positive drug or alcohol test can only be released to the Employer by the Medical Review Physician once he has completed his review and analysis of the laboratory's test. The Employer will be required to keep the results confidential and it shall not be released to the general public. Section 9. Testing Program Costs: The Employer shall pay for all costs involving drug and alcohol testing as well as the expenses involved of the Medical Review Physician. The Employer shall also reimburse each employee for his or her time and expenses, including travel incurred, involved in the testing procedure. Section 10. Rehabilitation Program: Any employee who tests positive for illegal drugs shall be medically evaluated, counseled and treated for rehabilitation as recommended by E.A.P. counselor. Employees who complete a rehabilitation program will be re-tested randomly at least once every quarter for the following twenty-four (24) months. Any employee who voluntarily enters rehabilitation will be subject to these same requirements. The treatment and rehabilitation shall be paid for by the employee's insurance program. Any costs over and above the insurance coverage shall be paid for by the Employer for initial treatment and rehabilitation. Employees will be allowed to use their accrued and earned leave for the necessary time off involved in the rehabilitation program. If an employee tests positive during the twenty-four (24) month period they shall be subject to disciplinary action as per the Department Rules and Regulations, the employee will be re-evaluated by an E.A.P. counselor to determine if the employee requires additional counseling and/or treatment. The employee will be solely responsible for any costs, not covered by insurance, which arise from this additional counseling or treatment. If an employee test positive during this subsequent twenty-four (24) month period, which in effect will be the employee's third chance for rehabilitation, the employee will be subject to discipline as per the Department Rules and Regulations. Section 11. Duty assignment after treatment: Once an employee successfully completes rehabilitation, they shall be returned to their regular duty assignment. Once treatment and any follow-up care is completed, and seven (7) years have passed since the employee entered the program, the employee's personnel file shall be purged of any reference to his/her drug or alcohol problem. Section 12. Right of Appeal: challenge discipline Employer grievable. the results of the imposed in the action under the The employee has the right to drug or alcohol tests and any same manner that any other terms of this agreement is Section 13. Union held Harmless: This drug and alcohol- testing program was initiated at the request of the Employer. The Fire Department assumes sole responsibility for the administration of this policy and shall be solely liable for any legal obligations and costs arising out of the provisions and/or application of this collective bargaining agreement relating to drug and alcohol testing. The Union shall be held harmless for the violation of any worker rights arising from the administration of the drug and alcohol-testing program. Section 14. Changes in Testing Procedures: The parties recognize that during the life of this agreement, there may need to be changes in the testing laboratory, collection site/s, and/or Medical Review Physician, there may also be improvements in the technology of testing procedure, which provide more accurate testing. In that event, the parties will bargain in good faith whether to amend this procedure to include such improvements. If the parties are unable to agree on the amendments they will be submitted to impasse procedures as outlined in the Grievance Procedures of this Contract. Section 15. Conflict with Other Laws: This Article is in no way intended to supersede or waive any constitutional or other rights that the employee may be entitled to under Federal, State or local statuts. Consent and Release Form for Drug/Alcohol Test Program I acknowledge that I have received a copy of, have been duly informed, and understand the Fire Department's drug and alcohol testing policy and procedures. I have been provided with information concerning the impact of the use of alcohol and drugs on job performance. In addition, I have been informed on how the tests are conducted, what the test can determine and the consequence of testing positive for drug use. I have been informed of the Fire Department's Employee Assistance Program. I understand that if I voluntarily come forward and ask for assistance to deal with a drug or alcohol problem through the Employee Assistance' Program, that I will not be disciplined by the Employer for the first such instance. I understand how drug/alcohol tests are collected and further understand that these are medical tests that are conducted under the auspices of a Medical Review Physician. I understand that the Medical Review Physician will review and interpret any positive test results, and that I will have an opportunity to be interviewed by the Medical Review Physician to review my status, my medical history and any relevant biomedical factors prior to the Fire Department being informed whether I passed or failed the test. I understand that a confirmed positive drug or alcohol test result will result in my referral to the Fire Department Employee Assistance Program and that I will be required to complete a rehabilitation program. No disciplinary action will be taken against me unless I refuse to take a drug/alcohol test, refuse the opportunity for rehabilitation, fail to complete a rehabilitation program successfully, or again test positive for drugs/alcohol. I understand that such disciplinary action, as described herein, may include dismissal from the Fire Department. Printed or Typed Name of Employee Signature of Employee Date