Drug And Alcohol Programs And Services Flashcards
Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 requires…
Governmental agencies with workers in safety sensitive positions to establish anti-drug programs
Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act was established by…
The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Operating Administrations Regulations
Year that DOT published rules of compliance for all facilities and supplemented the drug testing rules
1997
Results of 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) revealed that ——- of adults employed full or part time were characterized with abuse of, or dependence on, alcohol or drugs
77%
Workers with substance abuse problems are more likely to have more…..
- Absences
- Worksite accidents
- Workers compensation claims
——– of workers who die on the job test positive for alcohol or other drugs
10-20%
Industries with the highest rates of drug use
- Construction
- Mining
- Manufacturing
- Wholesale
Sources of cost alcohol and drug related problems have for American corporations
- Workplace theft
- Workplace violence
- Health care costs
- Lost productivity
Key consideration when developing an effective drug free program
Understanding the current impact of substance abuse in the organization and the professional or community partners available to promote success
Steps to take prior to developing drug free and/or drug and alcohol testing programs in the workplace
- Review all laws and regulations
- Bargaining with unions before changing work rules and policies
- Public employers must consider constitutional rights
Laws and regulations that should be reviewed for your jurisdiction prior to initiating drug free programs/ drug and alcohol testing
Regulations and mandatory requirements for:
- Drug free workplace programs
- Safety sensitive positions
- Disabilities
- Rehabilitation
- Discrimination
Requires bargaining with unions before changing work rules and policies
The National Labor Relations Act
Most common challenge to constitutional rights related to workplace alcohol and drug testing
Unreasonable search and seizure
1988 Drug Free Workplace was developed in order to:
- Educate small business concerns about the advantages of a drug free workplace
- Provide grants and technical assistance in addition to financial incentives to enable small business concerns to create a drug free workplace
- Assist working parents in keeping their children drug free
- Encourage small business employers and workers alike to participate in drug free workplace programs
Drug testing is required under the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988
False
Vital first step before designing a drug testing program
Understanding various state and federal regulations that may apply to an organization
Many employers across the US are not required to drug test
True
Many state and local governments have statues that limit or prohibit workplace drug testing
True
Many private employers have the right to test for various substances only when drug testing policies are in accordance with state and federal regulations that may apply to their business or organization
True
All federal contractors and grantees covered by the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988 must provide a drug free workplace as a precondition of receiving federal agency contracts or grants
True
The Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988 requires that:
- Policy statement specifying actions for those who violate the policy be developed and provided to all covered workers
- Drug free awareness program be established to raise worker awareness
- Workers be notified under the jurisdiction of federal contact or grant employment they must abide by terms of policy statement and notify employer of conviction of criminal drug violation in the workplace
- Contacting agency be notified of drug conviction of one of their employees
- Penalties or satisfactory participation in drug abuse assistance or rehabilitation program
- A good faith effort to maintain a drug free workplace
Drug free awareness programs are established to raise awareness of:
- Dangers of drug abuse in the workplace
- Policy of maintaining drug free workplace
- Any available drug counseling, rehabilitation and EAP
- Penalties that may be imposed for violations
Upon conviction of criminal drug violation in the work place an employee must notify the employer within….
5 calendar days
Upon receiving notice of criminal drug violation in the workplace the contracting agent should be notified within….
10 days
US Department of Labor recommends that drug free workplace programs…
- Balance the rights of the worker and the rights of the employer
- Balance the need to know and the right to privacy
- Balance detection and rehabilitation
- Balance respect for workers and the safety of all
Key elements of effective Drug Free Workplace program
- Written policy
- Drug and alcohol abuse prevention training and voluntary training for workers who are parents
- Illegal drug testing of workers
- Worker access to EAP program
- Continuing alcohol and drug abuse prevention training
Written policy for Drug Free Workplace program should include
- Expectations and prohibitions related to drug and alcohol abuse
- Consequences of violating the policy
Drug and alcohol abuse prevention training should not total less than…
2 hours for each worker
Components for illegal drug testing for workers
- Analysis conducted by drug testing laboratory certified by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) or approved by the College of American Pathologists for drug testing
- Review each positive test result with a medical review officer
Worker access to EAP should include:
- Confidential assessment
- Referral
- Short term problem resolution
Purposes of drug and alcohol testing programs are to:
- Avoid hiring workers who use illegal drugs
- Deter workers from abusing alcohol or drugs
- Identify and refer for treatment those workers who are presently abusing drugs or alcohol
Prior to development and implementation of alcohol and drug screenings, employers should:
- Seek thorough legal, medical and human resources advice
- Bargain with unions before changing work rules and policies
- During program implementation, protect workers’ constitutional rights and prevent unreasonable search and seizure
Core terms related to drug and alcohol abuse
- Drug
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- Substance abuse
Drug
Any chemical substance that produces physical, mental, emotional or behavioral changes in the user
Drug and alcohol abuse
The use of any drug or alcohol in a medically, socially or legally unacceptable manner
Substance abuse
Occurs whenever an illegal drug is used, when a prescribed drug is misused, when drugs or alcohol are consumed to the point of physical or mental impairment, or when alcohol is used in an amount or at a time prohibited by the employer’s policy
A company policy for a drug-testing program should adhere to applicable state and federal regulations including the following components:
- An explanation regarding why the program is being implemented
- A description of substance abuse related behaviors that are prohibited
- A thorough explanation of the consequences for violations of the policy
When developing drug free policies, employers should:
- Involve legal counsel and unions (if applicable) in policy development
- Include ongoing worker input into policy development
- Give workers 30 to 60 days notice before the testing program starts
There are several recordkeeping recommendations for drug and alcohol programs:
- Records that each worker has been notified of the company policy regarding drug testing should be maintained
- Workers should sign a receipt that they received a copy of the policy
- Information and training should be provided to workers well before the program begins
- Face to face training that includes an opportunity for employees to ask questions should be provided
Several administrative issues should be considered when a drug and alcohol program is being developed
- Employers should keep detailed records of their drug and alcohol abuse prevention programs
- Workers’ alcohol testing records are confidential
- Comparison analysis of the costs of drug testing with the costs of accidents, injuries, industrial injury time loss, workers’ compensation claims and productivity before and after initiation of a drug testing program can provide helpful information
When will detailed records of drug and alcohol abuse prevention programs become necessary?
If and when the program is inspected or audited by federal agencies
Without a signed release who can alcohol testing records be released to?
- Employer
- Substance abuse professional
- DOT
Laboratory certification (and monitoring) by ————- is required for federally mandated testing
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
The testing methodology require by the DOT is…….
A two stage process, starting with and initial screening test, which, if positive for one or more drugs, is followed by a confirmation test
The very sensitive initial screening test looks for….
The presence or absence of drugs
Name of the very sensitive initial screening test
Immunoassay
Confirmation test is performed for…….
Each identified drug
Method of confirmation test
Gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry analysis
Testing program must establish testing protocols, such as…..
The specific drugs to be tested and the cutoff level
The most common drugs tested for (and required by federal testing)
- Marijuana
- Cocaine
- Amphetamines
- Opiates
- Phencyclidine
Other drugs also abused but less commonly tested
- Barbiturates
- Hallucinogens
- Inhalants
- “Designer drugs”
Cutoff levels are established by…..
SAMHSA
The chain-of-custody procedures ensure…..
That the specimen’s security, proper identification and integrity are not compromised
The chain-of-custody procedures track the ——— and ——— from initial collection to final disposition
Handling
Storage
A positive test results must be linked back to…..
The individual whose name appears on the specimen bottle label
All personnel who handle the specimen are……
Documented
The Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 requires….
At drug testing procedures for most transportation workers include split-specimen procedures
In a spilt specimen procedure, each urine specimen is subdivided into two bottles, labeled as…..
Primary and split specimens
In a split specimen collection, the ——– specimen is opened and used for the urinalysis; the ——- remains sealed and is stored in the laboratory
Primary
Split
The worker has —— to request that the split specimen be sent to another SAMHSA-certified laboratory for analysis
72 hours
To protect worker and employer, a ———— reviews and interprets all drug test results before they are reported to the employer
Medical review officer (MRO)
Federal regulations require the MRO to…
Contact the worker in person or by telephone and conduct an interview to determine if there is an alternative medical explanation for the drugs found in the worker’s urine specimen
What happens if the worker provides appropriate documentation for the drugs found in the urine specimen?
The MRO determines that it is legitimate medical use of the prohibited drug, the drug test result is then reported as negative to the employer
As a quality assurance measure for the testing laboratory,employers are required by federal regulations to perform…..
Blind sample testing
Pre employment it applicant drug testing
Is conducted to prevent hiring workers with drug or alcohol problems
Why is pre employment or applicant drug testing the most popular type of drug testing?
Because it avoids union problems and potential future problems associated with substance abusing workers
Post accident drug testing
Is used to determine if drug or alcohol abuse was a contributing factor to the accident, identify drug and alcohol abusers and deter drug and alcohol abuse
Reasonable suspicion testing
Is conducted when an employer suspects that a worker is using alcohol or drugs in violation of the company’s policy
Causation for reasonable suspicion drug testing
Based on specific, contemporaneous and articulable observations concerning the appearance, behavior, speech or body odor
Random drug testing
Is conducted without suspicion that any particular worker is using drugs, and it identifies workers who are abusing drugs or alcohol but have been using the predictable testing schedule to escape detection
Candidates for random testing should be selected using a…..
Simple random sampling method
Why should a simple random sampling method be used for random drug testing
So that all workers eligible for testing are equally likely to be tested
Random testing is recommended for workers in……
Safety or security sensitive positions and for workers in companies in which alcohol and drug abuse problems are common
Federal regulations require random drug testing of at least —- of safety sensitive positions
50%
Federal regulations require random alcohol testing of at least —– of safety sensitive workers
25%
The federal random test rate is determined….
Annually
The federal random testing rate is based upon…
The random positive rate for each industry
Because alcohol is legal, random alcohol testing must be conducted….
Just before, during or after a worker’s performance of safety sensitive duties
Return to duty and follow-up testing
Are conducted when a worker who has tested positive for drugs and been removed from the workplace returns to work performing safety sensitive duties
Federal regulations require that follow-up tests must be….
Unannounced
Federal regulations require that follow-up testing must have a minimum number of —– tests in the first twelve months after worker returns to duty
6
Follow-up testing and monitoring may continue for up to…
5 years
The frequency of follow-up tests should depend on…
The characteristics of the abused drug and the worker’s abuse-related behavior
Federal regulations require that breath testing for alcohol be done with ———– approved by ———-
Evidential breath-testing devices
National Highway Traffic Safety Administation
Some federal regulations require certain categories of safety-sensitive workers to report….
Any medical use of controlled substances
Federal regulations pertaining to alcohol-related conduct mandate that a worker’s performance of safety sensitive functions is prohibited under the following circumstances:
- If an alcohol breath test indicates an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater
- While using alcohol
- Within four hours after using alcohol
- When worker uses alcohol within 8 hours after an accident or until tested
- When worker refuses to submit to an alcohol test
The Drug-free Workplace Act of 1983 requires…
Employers and employees who are federal grantees, or who are functioning as federal contractors to agree to establishing workplaces that are drug-free as a precondition of receiving Federal agency contracts or grants
