UCR Policies and Procedures

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Campus Policy Number: 650-02

Alcohol and Drug Testing of Transportation Employees

Policy Owner: Human Resources
Effective Date: 9/15/95

1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

   In accordance with the Federal Highway Administration Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, CR employees performing designated safety-sensitive functions, and applicants selected for hire for designated safety-sensitive positions, shall be subject to specified alcohol and drug testing as a condition of employment. The following summarizes applicable law.

2. DEFINITIONS
   1. Covered employee - any person who is required to hold a commercial driver's license as a function of University employment. This includes employees who operate a vehicle that meets one of these criteria:
      • Gross combination weight or gross vehicle weight of 26,001 or more pounds;
      • Designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver; or
      • Used to transport a placardable amount of hazardous material.

      Casual, intermittent, and occasional drivers, as well as applicants selected for hire for positions meeting the criteria, are included.

   2. B. Safety-sensitive function - all on-duty time a covered employee spends driving, waiting to drive, or performing work in or near a vehicle described in II.A. above.
3. POLICY
   1. A covered employee shall not:
      • Report for duty or remain on duty to perform a safety-sensitive function with an alcohol level of 0.04 or greater (see also III.C. below).
      • Be in possession of alcohol while on duty.
      • Use alcohol while, or within four hours prior to, performing a safety-sensitive function.
      • Use alcohol within 8 hours after a fatal accident or an accident for which the employee receives a citation for a moving violation, or before undergoing a post-accident test, whichever occurs first.
      • Report for duty or remain on duty requiring the performance of safety-sensitive functions when the driver uses or tests positive for any controlled substance, except when the employee has provided his/her supervisor with a letter from a physician that the use is pursuant to the physician's instructions and that the substance does not adversely affect the driver's ability to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle. The supervisor will notify Human Resources of the letter.
      • Refuse to submit to any test required by this policy.
   2. A covered employee, other than an applicant, who is found to have violated items in III.A., above:
      • Is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.
      • Shall not perform any safety-sensitive function until a return-to-duty test indicates an alcohol level of less than 0.02 or a negative result on a drug test, as appropriate to the violation.
      • Must be evaluated by a DOT-qualified substance abuse professional selected by the University. If the employee is identified as needing assistance in resolving drug or alcohol problems, the substance abuse professional may prescribe a rehabilitation program. The employee, if returned to duty, shall not perform any safety-sensitive function until the substance abuse professional determines that the rehabilitation program has been successfully completed.
      • Must submit to unannounced follow-up testing as described in III.E.6. below.
   3. A covered employee whose alcohol test indicates an alcohol concentration of 0.02 or greater, but less than 0.04, may not return to a safety-sensitive function until the start of the next regularly scheduled duty period, nor less than 24 hours following the test.
   4. No covered employee may perform a safety-sensitive function unless he/she has been given notice of this testing requirement and has been placed on the random testing pool list.
   5. A covered employee must be tested for drugs (marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, and phencyclidine) and alcohol as follows:
      • Preemployment. An applicant for, or employees transferring to, a covered position must be tested for drugs, with a negative result, before the first time a safety-sensitive function is performed. Job offers to applicants for covered positions must be conditioned on meeting this requirement.
      • Post-accident. A covered employee who was performing a safety-sensitive function at the time of a fatal accident, or who received a citation for a moving violation arising from an accident, must be tested as soon as practicable but in all cases within two hours for alcohol and within 32 hours for drugs. The employee must remain available for testing during this period or be deemed to have refused testing.
      • Random testing. At least 25% of covered employees will be selected each year for alcohol unannounced testing, and at least 50% for drug testing. An employee may be selected more than once per year. An employee who is notified of selection must report immediately to the test site.
      • Reasonable suspicion. When a supervisor who has received the training required by Federal law has a reasonable suspicion, based on direct observation of behavior, that a covered employee has violated the provisions of III.A. above, the employee must be tested immediately. The supervisor will arrange transportation to the test site.
      • Return-to-duty. See III.B.2. above.
      • Follow-up testing. An employee who has a verified positive drug or alcohol test result must submit to six or more unannounced tests for drugs and alcohol in the year following return to duty.
   6. No supervisor having actual knowledge of a violation of this law shall allow an employee he/she supervises to perform a safety-sensitive function while in violation.
   7. Testing procedures conform with requirements by relevant Federal and State legislature and regulations. A DOT-qualified Medical Review Officer will receive and verify all test results, and maintain confidentiality of all records as required by law.
   8. Costs of testing and enrollment in the random pool will be charged to departments.
   9. Random, reasonable suspicion, and follow-up tests for alcohol shall only be conducted just before, just after, or while the employee is performing safety-sensitive functions.
4. PROCEDURES
   1. When recruiting for a covered position, supervisors should indicate testing as a requirement on the requisition form. Supervisors should notify the Human Resources office before allowing a covered employee to drive any vehicles described in II.A. Supervisors should notify Labor Relations if he/she determines testing is required under III.E.2. (post-accident) or III.E.4. (reasonable suspicion) provisions.
   2. The Human Resources office will arrange for testing of newly-hired and current employees who drive the vehicles described in II.A., and add their names to the random selection list. The testing agency will randomly select employees to be tested, and notify the Human Resources office of employees selected. Human Resources will notify supervisors of employees selected, as well as location and time of testing.
   3. For all types of testing, supervisors need to complete the top half of the "Drug Testing Authorization" form, send white copy with employee to testing site, and send yellow copy to Human Resources for filing.
   4. Supervisors should contact employees selected for random drug testing and send them to the testing site immediately. For random alcohol testing, supervisor should contact employee promptly just before, just after, or while the employee is performing safety-sensitive functions.
   5. In the case of reasonable suspicion testing, the supervisor must give the employee notice to submit to testing (sample memo attached) and arrange transportation for the employee to the testing site. Testing should be conducted within two hours of the determination of reasonable suspicion, and no later than four hours. Within 24 hours of notice to the employee to submit to reasonable suspicion testing, the supervisor must complete and sign the reasonable suspicion checklist (attached).
   6. Employees must go immediately to the testing site, and report back to supervisor as soon as testing is complete. Any covered employee who refuses to submit to a required alcohol or controlled substance test will be immediately removed from duty and such refusal shall be treated as a positive test.
   7. Alcohol tests will be conducted under the guidance of a Breath Alcohol Technician selected by the University and in accordance with DOT regulations at one or more designated testing sites. If the result of an initial test is an alcohol concentration of less than 0.02, no further testing is required and the results are transmitted to Human Resources in a confidential manner. If the result of an initial test is an alcohol concentration of 0.02 or greater, a confirmation test will be performed within twenty minutes.
   8. Testing for controlled substances will be performed by urinalysis. If a lab test is positive, a Medical Review Officer (MRO) will notify the employee of the test result and provide an opportunity for the employee to discuss the result.

      The employee may request a retest of the sample if the request is made within 72 hours of initial contact with the MRO. The MRO will review and interpret each positive test result, including the employee's medical history and medical records. The MRO will notify Human Resources of negative and verified positive drug test results, and all alcohol test results.

5. TRAINING
   1. All supervisors of covered employees will receive at least sixty minutes of training on alcohol misuse and an additional sixty minutes of training on controlled substance use to assist them in determining whether reasonable suspicion exists to require an employee to undergo testing. The training will cover the physical, behavioral, speech and performance indicators of probable alcohol misuse and use of controlled substances. It will also cover available methods of intervening when an alcohol or a controlled substances problem is suspected, including confrontation, referral to the Employee Assistance Program, and/or referral to a higher management authority.
6. RECORDS RETENTION
   1. Human Resources and/or the testing laboratory will maintain the following records in a secure location with controlled access:
      • Five year record retention: Records of any employee alcohol test results indicating an alcohol concentration of 0.02 or greater; documentation of refusals to take required alcohol or controlled substance tests; verified positive controlled substance test results; equipment calibration documentation; documentation of covered employee evaluations and referrals by substance abuse professionals; and a copy of the annual summary of results required by DOT regulations.
      • Two year record retention: Records related to the collection process and supervisory training.
      • One year record retention: Records of any negative and canceled controlled substance test results and alcohol tests results with a concentration of less than 0.02.

      Except as required by law, no information about specific alcohol and controlled substance testing will be released by the University to outside parties. A covered employee is entitled, upon written request, to obtain copies of any records pertaining to the employee's use of alcohol or controlled substances, including any records pertaining to the employee's alcohol or controlled substances tests.

7. FURTHER INFORMATION

   Questions should be directed to Heidie Rhodes in Human Resources, extension 2-2463, or Elizabeth Sanchez in Labor Relations, extension 2-1414.