Disclaimer: This Drug and Alcohol Policy is provided as an example for your consideration, before making any changes please consult your legal team for advice. PURPOSE The Company continues its commitment and obligation to provide and maintain a safe and productive work environment free from the adverse effects of drugs and alcohol. It is our goal to have a workforce free of those who choose to use illegal drugs and misuse prescription medications or alcohol. This policy will assist the Company to achieve this goal. As a condition of employment, employees will abide by this policy as it now exists and as it may, from time to time, be amended. This policy is in compliance with the provisions of the Drug Free Work Place Act of 1988, 41 U.S.C.A. 701 et. seq. POLICY The use, consumption, possession, manufacture, sale, distribution, dispensing or transfer of a controlled substance, as defined in federal law at 41 U.S.C. 706(3) or declared by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration pursuant to its emergency scheduling authority, and the possession of paraphernalia containing the residue of a controlled substance is prohibited in or on the Company property or while on the Company business. Use of alcohol in or on the Company property, including motor vehicles owned by the Company is prohibited. For purposes of this policy, use means that the substance is in one s system and detectable through one of the tests specified in this Policy, in an amount at or above the minimum confirmatory levels set forth herein. Any employee convicted of violating a criminal drug statute must notify the Company President or his official designee no later than five (5) days after the conviction. Under this rule, a conviction includes a finding of guilt, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, and/or the imposition of a sentence by any judicial body responsible for determining violations of federal or state criminal drug statutes. Use of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications in or on the Company s property or while on the Company s business also is prohibited under certain circumstances. 1. If you are under medical care that requires you to take a prescribed pain killer, a classified Schedule Ill drug, or any drug that carries a warning label to exercise care when operating heavy machinery or driving, and your job involves the operation of equipment, the operation of a vehicle, or any other safety sensitive functions, you must provide your supervisor or local Human Resources representative with a copy of the prescription and a letter from your doctor certifying that the drug will not impair your mental and/or physical ability to safely and productively perform your job, or describing a reasonable accommodation the Company can provide that would allow you to safely and effectively perform the essential functions of your job. Notwithstanding the above, the Company may suspend you from work while you are taking any medication that the Company reasonably believes may impair your performance on the job.
2. If you are taking any over-the-counter medications (medicine not prescribed by a physician but purchased directly off the shelf ) that carry a warning label to exercise care when operating heavy machinery or driving, and your job involves the operation of any machinery or driving or any other safety sensitive functions, you must also notify your supervisor or local Human Resources representative of this. The Company may suspend you from work while you are taking any such over-the-counter medications that the Company reasonably believes may impair your performance on the job. SCOPE OF APPLICATION This policy applies to all employees. TESTING The Company will require tests of employees to detect levels of drugs and/or alcohol under the circumstances described below. Tests may include a chemical screen of a urine and/or blood sample, a saliva sample, hair sample, or any other available scientific test. At the written request of the employee, a copy of the tests results will be given to him/her. Tests will be required when: 1. The Company has a reasonable suspicion that an employee has violated this policy; 2. An employee is involved in an on-the-job accident, as described herein. the Company may, in its exclusive discretion. waive the drug and/or alcohol test requirement of an accident victim; 3. As a condition of the Voluntary Rehabilitation Program (as described herein), by which an employee would have tested positive and is in the Voluntary Rehabilitation Program, the employee will be considered to have consented to future random testing as a condition of continued employment; or 4. A random testing of the workforce is conducted as described herein.
Reasonable suspicion may be determined by an employee s performance, appearance, or conduct drawn from specific facts as observed by the Company, including, but not limited to, exhibiting unusual behavior on the job or a questionable pattern of absences. The Company will, in its sole discretion. determine the existence of such reasonable suspicion. Accidents include: on-the-job incidents in which the employee or another individual suffers injuries requiring medical attention or in which substantial damage to property or equipment occurs and incidents of so-called near misses which do not result in either physical injury or substantial equipment or property damage but could have potentially done so. Employees operating Company vehicles will be subject to testing in any event when they have been cited for a moving violation. All employees are subject to random drug and alcohol testing when reporting for duty or while on duty, in management s sole discretion. Employees will be tested on a random basis, in that, when random testing takes place, all employees randomly selected will be tested. SEARCHES As a condition of employment, an employee s person may be searched if the Company has reasonable suspicion that the employee has violated this policy. Further, an employee s work location, locker, lunch box. tool box, or any container or vehicle used to transport objects on Company premises may be searched. By reporting to work, each employee shows his agreement to this policy. Consequently, no employee should have any expectation of privacy in his or her work location, locker, lunch box, tool box, or any container or vehicle used to transport objects on Company premises. Refusal to permit such a search is a violation of this policy and the employee will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination. RESULTS OF TESTING An employee being tested for reasonable suspicion will be transported to the testing facility and kept from work for the remainder of the shift or until the test results are known. In contrast, an employee being tested following an accident generally will be able to return to work pending the results of the test; however, the Company may, at its discretion, keep an employee from returning to work following an accident if it has reasonable and objective suspicion that the employee violated this olicy. An employee who is not permitted to return to work will be paid for any lost time, if the test results do not warrant disciplinary action. In the event that the test results are negative, no further action will be taken. If the test results are positive, the appropriate disciplinary action will be taken, which may include termination of employment.
DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS Employees found to be in violation of any part of this policy, including a refusal or failure to consent, sign appropriate authorization forms, and submit to a test or a search as provided for herein will be subject to termination of employment on grounds of gross misconduct. Additionally, any employee convicted (as herein before defined) of violating a criminal drug statute, or who alters or attempts to alter the results of a drug or alcohol test, also will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. TEST PROCEDURES The test will involve a chemical screen of a urine, saliva, hair, breath, or blood sample and/or any other available scientific test, depending on what is available at the time in question. Samples will be collected, handled, and analyzed in accordance with procedures normally associated with such samples used for drug and alcohol collection and testing. Positive tests will be re-tested by the laboratory using gas chromatography techniques to confirm the initial test results. Positive saliva alcohol test results will be confirmed with a blood alcohol or breathalyzer test. Confidentiality of the results will be maintained except when disclosure is (i) required by law, regulation or order of any governmental authority, (ii) allowed by a consent signed by the employee, (iii) necessary as part of the disciplinary procedure, or (iv) necessary to support the Company s decision to terminate the employee on grounds of misconduct. The Company will maintain a Medical Review Officer who shall be a licensed physician with knowledge of drug abuse disorders. The Medical Review Officer will review all drug test results and, as needed, interview any employee who tests positive before the positive test results are made known to the Company. If it is available and requested, a sealed portion of the sample will be provided for employee-initiated testing. Custody of the sample will not be given to the employee. Such testing will be at the employee s expense. The needs of the laboratory the Company uses for analysis and storage will be the first priority. Detection levels used to determine a positive test results are itemized on the Drug Free Workforce - Drug Screening page.
VOLUNTARY REHABILITATION It remains the Company s desire and intent to encourage any employee with a drug or alcohol abuse and/ or dependence problem to seek professional assistance before an employee is subject to testing and the problem leads to an incident requiring disciplinary action. If an employee does not seek professional assistance before testing under this policy or an incident requiring disciplinary action occurs, Voluntary Rehabilitation under this policy will not be available to that employee. Any employee who voluntarily reports a drug or alcohol abuse problem to the Company shall be permitted to take personal leave in order to obtain substance abuse counseling. This leave is conditioned upon the employee actually enrolling in a rehabilitation program approved in advance by the Company. The employee must pass a Company authorized drug or alcohol screen within thirty (30) days from the last day worked or be terminated. If the employee passes the drug or alcohol screen within thirty (30) days, he/ she will be eligible to return to work, provided that there Is an opening available for a job which the employee is qualified to perform. The employee will be subject to drug or alcohol screens without notice for the next twelve (12) months as a condition to returning to work. If the employee fails any drug or alcohol screen or fails to successfully complete the rehabilitation program, he/she will be terminated. This policy does not require the Company to hold any position open nor create a position for any employee who successfully completes drug or alcohol rehabilitation counseling. Nothing in this policy shall be construed as an obligation upon the Company to provide, or pay for, substance counseling or treatment beyond the level of benefits outlined in the Company s benefits plan Summary Plan Descriptions. EVIDENCE Any evidence obtained by the Company of the unlawful use, consumption, possession, sale, distribution, or transfer of mind or behavior altering drugs or alcohol may be turned over to local or state law enforcement agencies for appropriate prosecutorial action.