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Page 1 of 7 CITY OF LARAMIE Policy Title: Serious Incident & Laramie Fire Department / Laramie Police Department Random Drug & Alcohol Testing Policy Policy Number: FINAL Page 1 of 7 Policy Type: Administrative Regulation PURPOSES The purposes of this rule are to ensure that all City of Laramie employees, while working in their capacity as employees of the City of Laramie, and who may be involved in serious incidents, are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time. Further, it is necessary to ensure that at all times City of Laramie public safety employees are not working while under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances and to provide public safety employees with notice of the provisions of the drug/alcohol testing program. Authority: This rule is adopted under the authority of W.S. 15-1-103 which allows cities and towns to determine working conditions for employees: and case law which permits drug/alcohol testing of public safety employees. SECTION A: APPLIES TO LFD AND LPD Discussion 1. The critical missions of public safety and law enforcement justify the maintenance of a drug and alcohol-free work environment through the use of a reasonable employee testing program. 2. Public safety and law enforcement have uniquely compelling interests which justify employee drug/alcohol testing. The public has a right to expect that those who serve in public safety positions are at all times both physically and mentally prepared to carry out their duties. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that the use of alcohol, controlled substances, and other forms of drug abuse will seriously impair an employee’s physical and mental ability on the job. 3. If public safety employees participate in illegal drug use and drug activity, the integrity of the public safety professions and public confidence in their abilities are destroyed. Public confidence is further eroded by the potential for corruption created by drug use. 4. Therefore, in order to ensure the integrity of the Laramie Fire Department and Laramie Police Department, and to preserve public trust and confidence in fit and drug free public safety employees, the City shall have a drug/alcohol testing program to detect prohibited drug/alcohol use by its public safety employees. 5. To protect the integrity of the City, as an organization, it is critical that the sobriety of all employees who may be involved in workplace accidents be determined. In order to eliminate that as a contributing cause to the accident, all City employees are subject to the Serious Incident Testing section of this policy. Applicability The duties of sworn police officers and community services officers include operation of vehicles and potentially dangerous situations. The duties of firefighters include attending to medical emergencies and potentially dangerous situations. LARC dispatch employees are responsible to work in situations where inattention or an error can endanger human life. LARC records Effective date: 4-1-2013 Responsible Department Head: All Department Heads Approval Authority: City Manager Policy Contact: Human Resource Office [PHONE REDACTED] Next Review Date: 4-1-2015 ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 2 of 7 employees work with sensitive law enforcement information. All LPD and LFD employees have access to sensitive medical or law enforcement information. Wrongful use of that information, and inaccurate recording or communication of that information, can endanger public safety and the safety of law enforcement personnel, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel. Therefore, this rule applies to all City employees assigned to the Police Department or the Fire Department. It is not intended to replace or to be applied in lieu of other City policies relating to alcohol or control substances. Other City policies and restrictions, if any, apply to public safety employees. This Rule shall be applied consistent with Section 20 (Drug Testing) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between Firefighters Local 946, IAFF, and the City. For firefighters, the provisions of this Rule concerning random drug testing are intended to implement Collective Bargaining Agreement Section 20.c.r. If there is a direct conflict between Section 20 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and this Rule, the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement control. Rules and Procedures The following rules shall apply to all LFD and LPD employees while on and off duty: Prohibited Activity—Drugs 1. No employee shall illegally possess any controlled substance. 2. No employee shall ingest any controlled or other dangerous substance, unless as prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner. a. Employees shall notify their immediate supervisor when required to use prescription medicine that they have been informed has the potential to impair job performance. The employee shall advise the supervisor of the known side effects of the medication and the prescribed period of use. The prescribed medicine shall be taken according to the physician’s instructions. The employee is not required to disclose either the condition which the medication is prescribed for or the name of the medication. b. Supervisors shall document this information through the use of an internal memorandum and maintain this memorandum in a secured file, not in the employee’s personnel file. Access to this memorandum is limited to the employee involved, the employee’s supervisor, the employee’s department head, the city manager, the city personnel manager, and city legal counsel. c. The employee may be temporarily reassigned to other duties, where appropriate in the supervisor’s judgment. 3. No employee shall ingest any prescribed or over-the-counter medication in amounts beyond the recommended dosage. 4. Any employee who unintentionally ingests, or is made to ingest, a controlled substance shall immediately report the incident to his/her supervisor so that appropriate medical steps may be taken to ensure the employee’s health and safety. 5. Any employee having a reasonable basis to believe that another employee is illegally using, or is in possession of, any controlled substance shall immediately report the facts and circumstances to his/her supervisor. 6. Discipline of employees for violation of this rule shall be in accordance with the City of Laramie Employee Handbook. Prohibited Activity—Alcohol 1. All employees are prohibited from possessing alcohol products while on duty. This means that an employee may not possess alcohol in any form, including but not limited to medication, food, or other alcohol-containing products, in or on City premises and in City vehicles. This section does not apply to employees handling alcohol-containing products in the performance of their duties. 2. No public safety employee shall report for duty or remain on duty while having any detectable blood alcohol concentration. 3. No supervisor having actual knowledge that an employee possesses alcohol on City premises or in a City vehicle may permit the employee to remain on duty. 4. No supervisor having actual knowledge that an employee has used alcohol within four hours shall permit the employee to remain on duty. ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 3 of 7 5. Any employee having a reasonable basis to believe that another employee is under the influence of or is in possession of alcohol while on duty shall immediately report the facts and circumstances to his/her supervisor. 6. Any employee who is removed from duty because of possession of alcohol or alcohol use shall not be paid for the balance of that shift. 7. This section does not apply to LPD personnel when authorized in advance by a supervisor to possess or consume reasonable quantities (BAC not to exceed 0.05%) of alcohol-containing products in the course of duty. 8. Discipline of employees for violation of this rule shall be in accordance with the City of Laramie Employee Handbook. Positive Tests 1. A positive alcohol test is a test where the results are above 0.00% blood alcohol content. 2. Concentrations of an illegal drug at or above the generally accepted standards in the field of illegal drug testing shall be considered as a positive test, both for initial screening and confirmation. Confirmation shall be by test on a urine specimen that tested positive, on the initial screen, using a technologically different method from the initial screening method (such as gas chromatography/mass spectrometry). “Generally accepted standards” means a forensically defensible standard recommended by a certified testing laboratory. Testing 1. Pre-employment testing - After a conditional offer of employment and before an employee is hired, each public safety employee candidate shall be tested for alcohol and controlled substances. The conditional offer may be withdrawn if the alcohol test detects blood alcohol, or if the controlled substances test indicates a verified positive result. 2. Reasonable Suspicion testing - Reasonable suspicion means that quantity of proof or evidence which is more than a hunch, but less than probable cause. Reasonable suspicion must be based upon specific, objective facts and any rationally derived inferences from those facts about the conduct of an individual which would lead a reasonable person to suspect that an individual is or has been using drugs while on or off duty, or is under the influence of or in possession of drugs or alcohol while on duty. Reasonable suspicion must be based on specific articulable observations concerning the appearance, behavior, speech or body odors of the employee. a. A supervisor shall require an employee to submit to a drug/controlled substance or alcohol test when the supervisor has reasonable suspicion to believe the employee has violated this rule. b. Supervisors will be trained to recognize specific behavior and other characteristics that determine reasonable suspicion. The supervisor shall not conduct the tests. The city manager or personnel manager (or, in the absence, the city manager’s designee) shall determine whether to proceed with the test. If the employee is to be tested, the personnel manager or other designee shall make arrangements for immediate testing. The employee will be escorted to the test location. c. Alcohol and controlled substance testing are authorized only if the observations are made during, just preceding, or just after the period of the work day that the employee is required to be in compliance with this rule. d. The supervisor shall not permit an employee to continue work related duties if there is reasonable suspicion that the employee is under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances. e. If a test required under this subsection is not administered within two hours of the determination of its necessity, the supervisor making the determination shall prepare a record stating the reasons the test was not administered. If a required alcohol test is not administered within eight hours or if a required controlled substance test is not administered within thirty-two hours of the determination of its necessity, attempts to administer the test shall be abandoned and the supervisor making the determination shall prepare a record stating the reasons the test was not administered. Copies of the records required by this paragraph shall be supplied by the supervisor to the city manager or designee as soon as practicable. f. The supervisor shall make a signed written record of the observations leading to an alcohol or controlled substance reasonable suspicion test. The record shall include the observations and indications. The record shall ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 4 of 7 be made within 24 hours of the incident, or before the results of the controlled substances test or alcohol test are released, whichever is earlier. 3. Random testing - All public safety employees personnel hold safety-sensitive positions and are therefore subject to random alcohol and drug/controlled substance testing. a. The minimum annual percentage for random alcohol testing shall be 25% of the average number of public safety employees each year. b. The minimum annual percentage for random controlled substance testing shall be 25% of the average number of public safety employees for each year. c. If after any year of testing, the city manager determines that the annual positive test rate so warrants, the percentage of random testing may be decreased or increased. d. The selection of employees for random testing will be determined by an independent contractor selected by the City, and shall use statistically valid procedure which insures that each employee has an equal chance of being tested each time a selection is made. e. The City will ensure that random alcohol and controlled substances tests are unannounced. f. Upon notification of selection, employees shall proceed immediately to the test site. g. Employees selected for random testing shall comply with the requirements of the testing laboratory. h. Failure to report to the testing site immediately may be considered as a refusal to be tested. i. Failure to comply with the requirements of the testing laboratory shall be considered as a refusal to be tested. j. The city manager or designee may determine the procedure if employees are selected who are off duty at the time of the random test. Employees who are off duty are not subject to call back for random testing while off duty. SECTION B: APPLIES TO ALL CITY OF LARAMIE EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING LFD AND LPD: Serious Incident Testing – All City of Laramie employees are subject to Serious Incident Testing. In all incidents in which a Serious Incident occurs, the City of Laramie Safety Officer shall be contacted. If the Serious Incident involves someone other than a Laramie Fire Department employee, the On-duty Shift Commander at the LFD will be contacted to respond to the scene of the serious incident and act as the Safety Officer. The Safety Officer or supervisor of employee shall also contact the Department Head of the affected division or department. 1. Serious incidents shall include all cases in which: there is an injury; there is any damage involving an occupied City vehicle, or there is any damage to private or government property, or discharge of a firearm (except during training exercises, qualifications, or in the duty of animal control); while on duty a. Using the foregoing as a conceptual guideline, the Safety Officer or the involved employee’s supervisors may in their discretion determine that other incidents are serious enough to require serious incident testing. b. The Safety Officer shall make the final determination, in cooperation with the involved employee’s supervisor, if Serious Incident Testing shall be required. 2. An employee who is involved in a serious incident while on duty shall be tested for alcohol and drugs as soon as practicable after the incident. An alcohol test shall be administered within two hours of the incident; if it is not, the supervisor shall prepare and maintain on file a record stating the reason why the test was not administered. If a drug test is not administered within 32 hours following the incident, the City shall cease attempts to administer a drug test, and the supervisor shall prepare and maintain on file a record stating the reasons why the test was not administered. ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 5 of 7 3. An employee who is subject to serious incident testing shall remain readily available for such testing, or may be deemed by the City to have refused to submit to testing. Leaving the scene for medical attention, and being unavailable while receiving medical attention, standing alone, are not considered a refusal. 4. Failure to provide adequate breath for testing without a valid medical explanation; failure to provide adequate urine for controlled substance testing without a valid medical explanation, or conduct which clearly obstructs the testing process, shall be treated as a refusal to be tested. Positive Alcohol Test In the event of a positive alcohol test, the tested employee shall immediately notify HR of that result; employee shall not operate a motor vehicle; and shall remain at the testing facility until instructed by HR otherwise. Return to Duty Testing An employee who returns to duty after positive controlled substance testing or testing indicating a blood alcohol level must undergo a return to duty test. No employee may return to duty until his/her blood alcohol concentration tests as 0.00%, a controlled substance test indicates a verified negative result, or the medical review officer who oversees the testing (or another qualified physician or substance abuse professional) indicates that the employee is ready to return to work. Follow-up Testing 1. Following a determination that an employee has violated this rule, the employee shall be advised of the resources available to evaluate and resolve problems associated with the misuse of alcohol and use of controlled substances, including the names, addresses and telephone numbers of substance abuse professionals and counseling and treatment programs. 2. Each employee who engages in conduct prohibited by this rule is required to be evaluation by a substance abuse professional who shall determine what assistance, if any, the employee needs in resolving problems associated with alcohol misuse or controlled substance use. 3. Each employee identified by the substance abuse professional as needing assistance in resolving problems associated with alcohol misuse or controlled substance use shall be further evaluated by a substance abuse professional to determine that the employee has followed the rehabilitation program prescribed. 4. Following a determination that an employee is in need of assistance and if the employee returns to duty, the employee shall be subjected to unannounced follow-up alcohol or controlled substance testing. The number and frequency of the follow-up testing shall be as directed by a substance abuse professional, and shall consist of at least six tests in the first twelve months from the date of return to duty. The follow-up testing program may be terminated at any time after the first six tests have been administered, if the substance abuse professional determines that testing is no longer necessary. Testing Methodology 1. Examinations, testing for drugs, and test sample verification shall be performed by medical personnel selected by the City. The City may join with other local government entities in the selection and use of medical personnel. 2. For alcohol testing, the test specimen will consist of breath blown into an intoximeter or other evidential breath testing instrument. 3. For drug/controlled substance testing, the test specimen will consist of a urine specimen. If an individual to be tested for drugs appears unable to provide a urine specimen at the time of the test, he/she shall be permitted no more than three hours to give a specimen, during which the person will remain in the testing area under observation. The individual will be given no more than 40 ounces of water to drink over the course of the three hours. 4. If an employee is found to have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.00%, or a negative drug test, he/she will be paid at the normal rate of pay during the testing and waiting period. If the test is positive for drugs, or shows a detectable blood alcohol content, he/she shall not be paid for the test period and will be suspended until return to duty testing is satisfactorily completed. Suspension may be with or without pay, at the discretion of the city manager. If suspension is with pay, the employee shall use accumulated leave for the suspension. ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 6 of 7 5. Failure to submit a specimen shall be considered a refusal to submit to testing. Whenever there is reason to believe that a specimen may have been altered or a substitution made, a second specimen shall be immediately provided by the employee. Both specimens shall be sent to the laboratory. 6. When a drug or alcohol test is required, employees shall sign a consent form allowing the test to take place, and permitting release of test results to the city manager or designee. 7. A medical review officer, who is responsible for receiving the laboratory results, and who is a licensed physician with knowledge of substance abuse disorders, will interpret and evaluate all positive test results and send his/her report to the city manager or designee. The information shall be kept in a confidential file with access restricted to the employee, the city manager, the personnel manager, and City legal counsel. If the employee appeals from adverse employment action taken on account of a positive drug/alcohol test, the information in the file may be used by either side at any hearing held on the appeal. Handling Test Results, Record Retention, and Confidentiality 1. The city manager or designee shall maintain records of alcohol, controlled substance, and drug misuse in a secure location with controlled access. 2. These records shall be retained for five years: Records of alcohol test results showing blood alcohol content; records of verified positive controlled substance/drug test results; documentation of refusals to take required alcohol or controlled substance/drug tests; calibration documentation; employee evaluation and referrals for counseling; and each calendar year summary. 3. These records shall be retained for two years: Records related to the alcohol and controlled substance/drug collection process (except calibration of evidentiary breath testing devices) and training. 4. These records shall be retained for one year: Records of negative and canceled controlled substance/drug test results; alcohol test results showing no blood alcohol. 5. An employee’s test records shall be available for inspection by the employee upon two day’s request. 6. Records relating to alcohol or drug misuse are not to be released to third parties without the employee’s consent. 7. An employee’s supervisor shall be informed of a confirmed positive test result. The supervisor may receive other information which is in the City Manager’s discretion necessary for the supervisor to know to perform his/her job. Except as necessary to support employment actions, the supervisor shall not disclose information received under this paragraph. This policy is effective April 1, 2013 and supersedes the previous policy, titled LPD/LFD Drug / Alcohol Testing Rule enacted March 1, 2000. Original document contains original signatures of the City Manager Kelly Arnold, Chief of Police William Ware, Fire Chief Mike Carlson and Jim Hoflund For Local No. 946 IAFF. Revised Policy signed on Janine Jordan, City Manager Dale Stalder, Chief of Police Dan Johnson, Fire Chief Jared Wood, Local No. 946 IAFF ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 7 of 7 SERIOUS INCIDENT & LARAMIE FIRE DEPARTMENT / LARAMIE POLICE DEPARTMENT RANDOM DRUG & ALCOHOL TESTING POLICY EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I have received and read the City of Laramie Serious Incident & Laramie Fire Department / Laramie Police Department Random Drug & Alcohol Testing Policy, understand its content and meaning, and agree to abide by it. Signature Printed Name Title Date