Staff Personnel Manual (SPP)

Effective: 1/1/1996

Revised: 7/1/2010

SPP 321: Drug and Alcohol Testing for Commercial Vehicle Drivers and Mechanics

Purpose

To ensure that employees whose jobs require a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) to drive commercial vehicles, or employees whose jobs require them to perform mechanical repairs/service for commercial vehicles, are tested for alcohol and/or drug misuse

Sources

49 Code of Federal Regulations § 382 (1994)

Omnibus Transportation Employees Testing Act of 1991

Applicability

All university employees who drive or mechanically repair/service a commercial vehicle. A commercial vehicle is defined as any one of the following:

1. a vehicle of 26,001 pounds (CVWR) or more

   or

2. a vehicle designed to transport 16 or more people, including driver

   or

3. any size vehicle transporting hazardous material (placarded).

Policy

Any employee who drives or repairs qualifying commercial vehicles must have a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) and is subject to alcohol and drug testing.

Each ASU department must identify and notify the Office of Human Resources (OHR) alcohol/drug testing coordinator (ADTC) of any employee who drives or services qualifying commercial vehicles.

Testing under this policy/program is used to determine whether a driver or mechanic of a commercial vehicle should be removed from this safety-sensitive function and referred to a substance abuse professional.

Note:

Departments will be responsible to pay for all required tests.

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Covered Employees

Testing regulations and procedures are detailed in the “Alcohol and Drug Testing Program for Drivers and Mechanics of Commercial Vehicles,” which is on file and may be reviewed in OHR. Copies of this booklet will be provided to all covered employees and departments.

A covered employee who declines or refuses to take a drug or alcohol test will be considered to have had a confirmed positive test.

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Categories of Drug and Alcohol Testing

Pre-employment Testing (Drug Test Only)

The successful applicant for positions requiring a Commercial Driver’s License will be required to pass a drug test following conditional offer of employment.

Random Testing

All covered employees are subject to unannounced random testing.

Fifty percent of all covered employees will be randomly tested for drugs annually.

Twenty-five percent of all covered employees will be randomly tested for alcohol annually.

When notification is received that an employee has had a confirmed positive alcohol or drug test, the employee’s department will be notified, the employee will be suspended (with or without pay as paid leave is available; sole exception outlined under “Request to Retest”), and the employee will be instructed to schedule an appointment with a representative of the campus Employee Assistance Office (EAO). An employee who fails to schedule and appear for the appointment is subject to disciplinary action, including termination.

Reasonable Suspicion Testing

Covered employees are subject to drug and/or alcohol testing if the employee’s performance, behavior, or other observable characteristics suggest that the employee may be impaired due to drug and/or alcohol use.

Both a drug and alcohol test will be conducted when a supervisor, trained in the detection of possible indicators of use, has reasonable suspicion (also referred to as “reasonable cause”) to believe that the employee is impaired because of drug/alcohol use.

An employee identified for reasonable suspicion testing will be suspended (with or without pay as paid leave is available), pending the results of the drug and/or alcohol test(s). If the result is negative, the employee will be reinstated and paid for all the time lost.

If a reasonable suspicion test is confirmed positive, the employee’s department will be notified, the employee will be suspended (with or without pay as paid leave is available), and the employee will be instructed to schedule an appointment with a representative of EAO. An employee who fails to schedule and appear for the appointment is subject to termination.

Post-accident Testing

As soon as possible following an accident involving an ASU commercial vehicle, the driver shall be tested for both alcohol and drugs.

An “accident” is defined as follows:

1. an accident involving a fatality

   or

2. an accident in which the ASU driver receives a citation for a moving violation and someone requires medical treatment away from the scene

   or

3. an accident in which the ASU driver receives a citation for a moving violation and any vehicle is required to be towed from the scene.

Specific procedures to be followed at the accident scene must be kept in all ASU commercial vehicles.

If a post-accident test is positive, the employee will be suspended (with or without pay as paid leave is available), and immediately referred to EAO.

Return to Duty/Follow-up Testing

An employee who has tested positive must test negative on the applicable test within 45 days from the first test. He or she will be subject to unannounced testing periodically thereafter.

The employee must be randomly tested six times in the next 12 months following return to duty.

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Self-identification

Employees may voluntarily self-identify that they may be impaired due to drug or alcohol use. Discipline will not be initiated because employees self-identify. Self-identification must be totally voluntary and is not allowed after an employee has been notified to report for a random, reasonable cause, or post-accident test.

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Prohibited Conduct

No covered employee shall:

1. use, sell, purchase, or have in possession, alcohol or drugs causing impairment on ASU time (employees may possess and use legally obtained medication provided it does not impair the ability to safely operate a vehicle)
2. refuse to submit to an alcohol or drug test
3. have an alcohol concentration of 0.02 percent or greater on ASU time

   or

4. test positive for drugs as follows:D
   

   Marijuana metabolites	50 ng/ml - Initial test level
   Cocaine metabolites	300 ng/ml - Initial test level
   Opiate metabolites	300 ng/ml - Initial test level
   Phencyclidine	25 ng/ml - Initial test level
   Amphetamines	1,000 ng/ml - Initial test level

endtable

Consequences of Prohibited Conduct

1. Employees who refuse to submit to testing will be considered to have tested positive and will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.
2. Employees who attempt to interfere, alter, substitute, or in any way affect the outcome of the alcohol or drug testing procedure will be considered to have tested positive and will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
3. Employees who fail to report immediately to the designated testing facility will be considered as having refused to submit to testing.

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Rehabilitation

Upon the confirmation that an employee uses illegal drugs and/or tests at 0.02 percent or above for alcohol, rehabilitation may be offered through referral by the EAO.

If the employee is offered and accepts rehabilitation, the employee must successfully complete the rehabilitation and remain alcohol- and drug-free in order to keep the job. If an employee refuses to enter or successfully complete a rehabilitation program, the employee will be terminated.

Employees involved in rehabilitation may be accommodated by their department by being placed in a non-CDL position if appropriate and available. If a non-CDL position is not available, employees will be placed on leave (paid and unpaid as available) until completion of the rehabilitation program.

After rehabilitation the employee shall:

1. be evaluated by the EAO to determine that he or she has followed the rehabilitation program prescribed
2. undergo a return-to-duty test

   and

3. be subject to unannounced follow-up drug and alcohol testing six times in the following 12 months.

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Request to Retest

An employee may submit one written request for retesting of a specimen producing a positive test result, either by the original or another certified laboratory. Such requests must be made no later than 72 hours after receipt of a confirmed positive test result. The employee shall pay the cost of the additional test and all handling and shipping costs. In this situation, the employee will be placed on leave with pay until the results are known.

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Training Requirements

Each department must provide covered employees and supervisors of covered employees with their own copies of the “Employee Alcohol & Drug Testing Program for Drivers and Mechanics of Commercial Vehicles” manual.

Supervisors who will make determinations on reasonable cause testing must receive a minimum of 60 minutes each of training in the physical, behavioral, and performance indicators of probable drug misuse and alcohol misuse.

Training for new supervisory personnel who will have the authority to make reasonable cause determinations is also required.

All covered employees and supervisors must sign a form to verify that they have received the manual and/or training, as applicable.

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Confidentiality

All records of the drug and alcohol testing program are strictly confidential, and access to records will be strictly controlled. Department and OHR records will be kept in a secure location and will not be part of the individual’s personnel file.

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