HomeMy WebLinkAbout3242 ORDINANCE NO. 3242
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SANFORD, FLORIDA,
AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 3173 WHICH ADOPTED THE
CITY'S PERSONNEL RULES AND REGULATIONS;
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, CONFLICTS AND
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, it is the desire of the City Commission of the City of Sanford,
Florida, to amend Section 18.0 of the Personnel Rules and Regulations to provide
revised standards to comply with Title 49 CFR of the Federal Department of
Transportation (DOT) and the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF
SANFORD, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1: The City Commission adopts the statements above as if fully set
forth herein.
SECTION 2: That the Personnel Rules and Regulations (Section 18.0) which
are attached hereto as Exhibit "A" are incorporated herein by reference.
SECTION 3: If any portion of a section of this ordinance proves to be invalid,
unlawful or unconstitutional, it shall not be held to impair the validity, force or
affect of any other section or part Of this ordinance.
SECTION 4: That ali ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith
be and the same are hereby revoked.
SECTION 5: This ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its
passage and adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this/~_ day of ~A.D. 1995.
ATTEST:
City of Sanford, Florida
CERTIFICATE
~Linda L. Brace. Deputy Cit Clerk
I, Jen~t~R~-Deu~herty;-(~R~f~ert~-of the City of Sanford, Florida, do hereby
certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Ordinance No. 3242, tP~2~_~_Z~
AND ADOPTED by the City Commission of the City of Sanford, Florida, on
Sanford, Florida, A 1995.
As the Deputy C~ty C]er~t~e-C.,it~.X~l~rk-of the City ~b of SanfSf~d~ Florida
SECTION 18.0
ALCOHOL/DRUG TESTIN(~ ~c~ F
18.1 PURPOSE
It is the purpose of this policy to establish and ~ ~ ~rd's
intent to maintain a "DRUG FREE" workplace. In so doing, the City's general
operating procedures prohibit the consumption, possession, or being under the
influence of alcoholic beverages or controlled substances as described in F.S.
893, while on duty. In addition, it is the City's desire to improve worker's
compensation cost control, increase productivity and safety, decrease
absenteeism, decrease health care costs, and increase overall employee morale.
For further information concerning Floridas' Drug Free Workplace Act see Fla.
Status 440.101 Et. Seq. and regulations implementing that Statute.
Alcohol/controlled substance (drug) shall be defined as including distilled spirits,
wine, malt beverages, intoxicating liquors, amphetamines, cannabinoids,
cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), hallucinogens, methaqualone, opiates,
barbiturates, benzodiazepines, synthetic narcotics, designer drugs, or a
metabolite of any of these substances. It does not include any prescription
drug or medication taken as a result of a medical doctor's orders or any other
non-prescription medication authorized by law for general digestion for
treatment of human diseases, ailments, or injuries.
All current and/or potential, future employees must abide by this policy and
understand that it is a condition of employment to refrain from taking drugs on
or off the job. Job applicants who refuse to take a drug test will not be
employed by the City. Employees who refuse to submit to a test for
alcohol/drugs for any cause as specified in this section will be terminated and
forfeit eligibility for medical and indemnity benefits in cases of work-related
incidents. Refusal to submit to such alcohol/drug test may also result in
forfeiture of unemployment compensation benefits.
18.2 CAUSES FOR TESTING
In keeping with the philosophy of implementing a "DRUG FREE" workplace
program, alcohol/drug testing shall be conducted in each of the following
situations:
(A) All job applicants who have been offered employment conditioned upon
successfully passing a drug test.
(B) As part of routine fitness for duty physicals.
(C) Follow-up testing on a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis for up to
two (2) years after an employee successfully completes a drug
rehabilitation program during the course of employment.
(D) Reasonable suspicion to believe that an employee is using or has used
drugs in violation of this policy based on specific objective and articulable
facts and reasonable inferences drawn from those facts in light of
experience, to include:
(1) Observable phenomena while at work such as direct observation
of alcohol/drug use or of the physical symptoms or manifestations
of being under the influence of alcohol/drugs.
(2) Abnormal conduct or erratic behavior while at work or a significant
deterioration in work performance.
(3) A report of drug use, provided by a reliable and credible source
which has been independently corroborated.
(4) Evidence that an individual has tampered with a drug test during
his/her employment.
(5) Information that an employee has caused or contributed to an
accident/incident while at work.
(6) Evidence that an the employee has used, possessed, sold,
solicited, or transferred alcohol/drugs while working or while on
the employer's premises, or while operating any City vehicle,
machinery, or equipment.
(7) All facts supporting a reasonable suspicion drug testing must be
promptly (within 24 hours) reduced to written format and sent to
the Personnel Director. The original will be kept confidential and
maintained for at least one (1) year. A copy will be given to the
employee upon request.
18.3 PROCEDURES FOR TESTING
The taking or collection of a specimen to be tested shall be coordinated by the
"City Physician" or designated alternate possessing the necessary credentials
as follows:
(A) Licensed physician or physician assistant.
(B) Registered professional nurse, licensed practical nurse, or nurse
practitioner.
(C) Certified paramedic present at scene of an accident for purposes of
rendering emergency medical service or treatment.
(D) Qualified person employed by a licensed laboratory.
The City Physician or his/her designee shall be responsible for submission of
specimen to a licensed laboratory for testing and for receiving the results of any
drug test. Urine shall be used for the initial and confirmation tests for all drugs
except alcohol. Blood will be used for the initial and confirmation tests for
alcohol.
All testing result levels equal to or exceeding the following levels shall be
reported as positive:
Initial Test Confirmation Test
Alcohol 0.04 g% 0.04 g%
Amphetamines 1,000 ng/ml
Cannabinoids 100 ng/ml 15 ng/ml
Cocaine 300 ng/ml 150 ng/ml
Phencyclidine 25 ng/ml 25 ng/ml
Methaqualone 300 ng/ml 150 ng/ml
Opiates 300 ng/ml 300 ng/ml
Barbiturates 300 ng/ml 150 ng/ml
Benzodiazepines 300 ng/mt 150 ng/ml
Synthetic Narcotics:
Methadone 300 ng/ml 150 ng/ml
Propoxyphene 300 ng/ml 150 ng/ml
18.4 CHALLENGING TEST RESULTS
It is the responsibility of the employee and/or applicant who wishes to
"challenge" test results to do so by initiating the following procedure:
(A) All test results are mailed/delivered by the testing laboratory to the City
Physician (Medical Review Officer). The City Physician will provide a
copy to the Personnel Director.
Drug testing information is confidential and cannot be released to the
public. (FI. Status 440.102 (8).
(B) Employees and/or applicants shall be informed, by the Medical Review
Officer, of positive (confirmed) test results, the consequences of such
results, and the options (i.e., contacting the testing laboratory, filing a
written explanation with the MRO, etc.) available to them within five (5)
working days of receipt of said result.
(C) The Personnel Director shall, upon request of the employee and/or
applicant, furnish a copy of the test results to him/her.
(D) It is the responsibility of the employee and/or applicant to notify the
testing laboratory of intent to challenge a test result.
The employee and/or applicant shall be permitted to have a portion of the
specimen retested at their own expense at another laboratory licensed
and approved by H.R.S. This independent test must be of equal or
greater sensitivity for the drug in question.
(E) After an employee and/or applicant receives notice of a positive,
confirmed test, they may, within five (5) working days, submit
information to the City Physician (Medical Review Office) explaining or
contesting, in writing, why the test results do not violate the City's
policy.
The "City Physician" will review the test results and act as the "Medical
Review Officer" to either substantiate or refute said information.
Consequently, the results of this medical review will be provided to the
employee and/or applicant in writing. This information shall be
considered confidential and shall be retained by the City for one ( 1 ) year.
18.5 CONSEQUENCES OF CONFIRMED POSITIVE TEST RESULTS
(A) Applicants being considered for City employment shall be required to
submit to an employment physical to include mandatory alcohol/drug
testing. Applicants who test positive (after confirmation) shall not be
employed by the City.
(B) Any current employee of the City must submit to the physical and/or
alcohol/drug testing requirement for those reasons outlined in Section
18.2 (Causes for Testing) and Section 18.7. Failure to do so will result
in termination of employment and forfeiture of worker's compensation
and/or unemployment compensation benefits.
(C) If a current employee tests positive (confirmed) the Department shall
immediately place that employee on sick leave. If there is an insufficient
amount of accrued sick leave available, other available accrued leave
shall be used to cover this absence. If all accrued leave becomes
exhausted, the employee shall be placed on a medical leave of absence
without pay.
(D) Employees who have been confirmed as testing positive and who have
been referred to a treatment program and who refuse said referral shall
be terminated from employment.
Employees who accept treatment must understand that they are required
to successfully complete such treatment. Failure to do so will result in
termination from employment.
Employees who accept treatment and successfully complete said
treatment will be required to furnish proof of such successful completion
to the Personnel Director. This proof shall be reviewed by the "City
Physician" in conjunction with retesting before the employee can be
reinstated to on-duty work status. Employees in this situation are
subject to random retesting for a period not to exceed two (2) years from
the date of successful completion of the treatment program to insure
continued and complete recovery.
If, during the course of this two (2) year period, the employee tests
positive, he/she will be terminated from employment.
(E) Special risk employees (Chapter 633 or 943) may be discharged or
disciplined for the first positive confirmed drug test result when illicit
drugs pursuant to F.S. 893 are confirmed. No special risk employee shall
be permitted to continue work in a "safety-sensitive" position, but may
be placed either in a "non-safety-sensitive" position (if any is available)
or on sick leave status while participating in an EAP or alcohol/drug
rehabilitation program.
If there is an insufficient amount of sick leave available, other accrued
leave shall be used to cover any absence while participating in the EAP
or other alcohol/drug rehabilitation program. If all accrued leave becomes
exhausted, the employee shall be placed on a medical leave of absence
wi~;hQut pay.
18.6 VOLUNTARY REQUEST FOR TREATMENT
Employees seeking voluntary treatment for alcohol/drug problems and who have
not previously tested positive for drug use, entered an EAP program for drug-
related problems, or entered an alcohol and drug rehab program may do so
without consequence of disciplinary action or discharge assuming that they
have not been involved in any other aspect covered under Section 18.2.
Employees in this category shall be required to use any and all accrued sick
leave and/or other accrued leave to cover absences during treatment. Once
accrued leave is exhausted they shall be placed on a medical leave of absence
without pay for the appropriate period of time to be determined as outlined in
Section 18.5 (C) (2).
It is to be understood that these employees are expected to successfully
complete the treatment program furnishing proof of successful completion to
the Personnel Director and that return to employment is contingent upon
medical certification of fitness for duty and random testing for a period not to
exceed two (2) years.
18.7 SAFETY-SENSITIVE POSITIONS
In accordance with the provisions of Title 49 CFR standards of the Federal
Department of Transportation (DOT) and the "Omnibus Transportation
Employee Testing Act of 1991" all employees required by their job descriptions
to perform "safety-sensitive" position duties shall be subject to the drug and
alcohol testing programs contained therein.
(A) "Safety-sensitive" positions are positions which require employees to:
(1) Operate, or be immediately available and in a state of readiness to
operate, a commercial vehicle requiring a class A,B, or C (CDL).
or
(2) Supervise employees who operate commercial vehicles and who
are required by the nature of their supervisory duties to maintain
Class A,B, or C (CDL).
(B) In addition to the general prohibitions regarding the consumption,
possession, or being under the influence of alcoholic beverages or
controlled substances as outlined in Section 18.1 of this policy, further
prohibitions regarding safety-sensitive positions include:
(1) No employee shall perform duties in a safety-sensitive function
within four (4) hours of using alcohol.
(2) No employee required to submit to a post-accident alcohol test
shall use alcohol for eight (8) hours following the accident or until
the driver undergoes the required post-accident alcohol testing,
whichever occurs first.
(3) No employee shall refuse to submit to a post-accident random,
reasonable suspicion, or follow-up alcohol or controlled substance
test. Refusal to submit to such testing includes failure to provide
adequate breath and/or urine testing without a valid, medical
explanation by a medical physician.
(C) Testin_~: All employees filling, or applicants being considered for,
safety sensitive positions shall be tested for substance
and/or alcohol use in accordance with the following:
(1) Preemployment testing: All applicants for safety sensitive
positions shall be tested for alcohol and controlled substance
use prior to final consideration for hire.
(2) Post-accident testing: An employee who is operating a
commercial vehicle involved in an accident while on duty that
results in the loss of life or who receives a moving violation
citation while operating a commercial motor vehicle while on duty
shall submit to an alcohol and controlled substance test as soon
as possible after the accident or receipt of a moving violation
citation.
When reporting the accident, the employee is required to report
whether the accident resulted in the loss of life or moving
violation. It is then the responsibility of the supervisor to arrange
testing.
If the alcohol use test is not administered within two hours
following the accident, the supervisor shall document, in writing,
the reasons the test was not administered within that time. If the
alcohol test is not administered within eight (8) hours following
the accident or the controlled substance test is not administered
within 32 hours following the accident, no such tests shall be
conducted. The supervisor shall document, in writing, the reasons
the tests were not conducted within the required time frame.
Drivers who are subject to this post-accident testing shall remain
readily available for the test or may be deemed to have refused
the tests. However, drivers shall not be prohibited from leaving
the scene of the accident for the period of time necessary to
obtain assistance in responding to the accident or to obtain
necessary emergency medical care.
The results of alcohol or controlled substance tests administered
by Federal, State or local officials having independent authority for
the test may be used to satisfy the requirements set forth in the
Omnibus Transportation Employment Training Act of 1991 and the
D.O.T. regulations thereunder, provided the tests comply with
applicable Federal, State, or local requirements and the results of
the test are obtained by the city.
(3) Reasonable suspicion testing: It will be the responsibility of
supervisors to monitor employees in safety sensitive positions for
alcohol and controlled substance use. When a supervisor has
reasonable suspicion, based on the training provided, that an
employee in a safety sensitive position is under the influence of
alcohol or a controlled substance, the supervisor shall require
reasonable suspicion testing of the employee. The required test(s)
shall proceed as follows:
(A) The supervisor will inform the employee of the suspicion of
influence of alcohol and/or controlled substance.
~ Bargaining unit employees may request union
representation in accordance with the current labor
agreement; however, this request shall not delay the testing
procedure.
{B) The employee shall immediately stop performance of the
safety sensitive position duties.
{C) The supervisor will contact the Personnel Director to
arrange testing of the employee during normal working
hours (8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday).
Outside of normal working hours, the testing facility
selected for hours other than normal working hours will be
used.
{D) A person designated by the Department shall transport the
employee directly to the designated testing facility. After
the appropriate testing has been completed, the employee
shall be transported to his/her place of residence. The
employee shall be required to use accrued leave or
compensatory time, or shall be in an unpaid status if the
employee has no such leave available, to account for any
time remaining on his/her shift. Such time shall be
reimbursed if the results of the reasonable suspicion test
are negative.
If the alcohol use test is not administered within two hours
following the accident, the supervisor shall document, in
writing, the reasons the test was not administered within
that time. If the alcohol test is not administered within
eight (8) hours following the accident or the controlled
substance test is not administered within 32 hours
following the accident, no such tests shall be conducted.
The supervisor shall document, in writing, the reasons the
tests were not conducted within the required time frame.
(E) The employee can come back to work if the blood alcohol
level is less than 0.02 or if 24 hours has elapsed since the
test was taken.
{F) A written "Reasonable Suspicion Testing Report" must be
completed by the supervisor who made the determination
of reasonable suspicion within 24 hours of the observed
behavior or before the results of the test are released,
whichever is later. Such report shall be forwarded to the
Personnel Director.
(4) Random testing: On an annual basis, a minimum of 25% of the
average number of CDL-required positions in the city will be
administered random alcohol tests. Likewise, a minimum of 50%
of the average number of CDL driving positions in the city shall be
administered random controlled substances testing.
The selection of drivers for the random testing shall be made using
a system that will randomly select CDL drivers from the city's
authorized driver list, Under this selection process each driver
shall have an equal chance of being tested each time selections
are made.
The random alcohol and controlled substances tests shall be
unannounced and the dates and times of the testing shall be
spread reasonably throughout the year. There shall be a sufficient
number of these tests to meet the minimum percentage of tests
required under the law.
The Personnel Director shall notify the supervisor of each driver
selected for random testing. The supervisor shall be responsible
for seeing that the driver is immediately relieved of any safety
sensitive functions and immediately sent or taken to the test site.
(5) Return-to-Duty: The city must ensure that before a driver returns
to duty in a safety sensitive position after engaging in prohibited
conduct the driver shall undergo a return-to-duty test which shall
be supervised by a substance abuse professional, Medical Review
Officer, or City Physician.
(6) Follow-up: Drivers who have been determined to be in need of
assistance in resolving problems associated with alcohol misuse
shall be subject to unannounced follow-up testing as directed by
the "substance abuse professional", Medical Review Officer, or
City Physician.
(D) Disciplinary Action: An employee who violates any of the afore-
mentioned alcohol misuse or controlled substances use prohibitions shall
be removed immediately from performing duties in their safety sensitive
position. An employee whose test results indicate an alcohol concen-
tration of .02% or greater but less than .04% shall be prohibited from
returning to a safety sensitive position until the start of the employee's
next regularly scheduled duty period but not less than 24 hours following
the administration of the test. An employee whose test results indicate
an alcohol concentration of .04% or greater shall not return to work until
a return-to-duty test has been administered with a result of less than
.02% alcohol concentration. When test results indicate the use of
alcohol or controlled substances by the employee, disciplinary action
shall be undertaken in accordance with the Personnel Rules and
Regulations, or the current labor agreement for bargaining unit
employees.
Supervisory personnel who administer this policy in a manner inconsistent
with procedural guidelines shall be subject to disciplinary action.