EL PASO COUNTY SHERIFF S OFFICE POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL

Transcription

1 EL PASO COUNTY SHERIFF S OFFICE POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL Effective Date: 03/12/15 Supersedes: 01/14/14 Approval: Number: 325 Subject: EMPLOYEE DRUG TESTING Reference: Standard: ACA: 7E-01 &7E-02 CALEA: & Chapter: III Reevaluation Date: Annual No. Pages: 5 I. PURPOSE: To provide all Sheriff s Office employees with notice of the provisions contained in the Office drug-testing program. II. DEFINITIONS: CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE: Employees who do not posses a Deputy Sheriff commission. DRUG TEST: The compulsory submission to a blood, urine or breath test, by an employee in accordance with Sheriff s Office procedures for chemical analysis to detect prohibited drug or alcohol usage. PBT: Preliminary breath test. PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEE: For the purposes of this policy only, a probationary employee shall be considered to be any person who is conditionally employed with the Sheriff s Office as a sworn employee. REASONABLE SUSPICION: That quantity of proof or evidence that is more than a hunch, but less than probable cause. Reasonable suspicion must be based on specific, objective facts and any rationally derived inferences from those facts about the conduct of an individual that would lead the reasonable person to suspect that the individual is or has been using or is under the influence of drugs while on or off duty, or alcohol while on duty. SUPERVISOR: Employees assigned to a position having day-to-day responsibility for supervising subordinates, or who are responsible for commanding a work element. SWORN EMPLOYEE: Employees who posses a Deputy Sheriff commission. III. POLICY: It is the policy of the Sheriff s Office that the critical mission of law enforcement justifies the expectations of a drug free work environment through the use of a reasonable suspicion employee drug-testing program. The law enforcement profession has several uniquely compelling interests that justify the use of employee drug-testing. The public has a right to expect that those who protect and serve them are, at all times, both physically and mentally prepared to assume these duties. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that the use of controlled substance and other forms of drug and alcohol abuse will seriously impair an employee's physical and mental health, and thus, their job performance. If law enforcement officials participate in illegal drug use and drug activity, the integrity of the law enforcement profession and community confidence is destroyed. This confidence is further eroded by the potential for corruption created by drug use. Therefore, in order to ensure the integrity of the Sheriff s Office, and to preserve public trust and confidence in a fit and drug-free law enforcement 03/12/15 WDE/ga 1

2 profession, the Sheriff s Office shall implement a drug-testing program to detect prohibited drug and alcohol use by its employees. IV. PROCEDURE: A. PROHIBITED ACTIVITY: The following rules shall apply to all applicants, probationary, sworn and civilian employees, while on and off duty: 1. No employee shall illegally possess any controlled substance. 2. No employee shall consume or possess any form of Medicinal or Recreational Marijuana. 3. 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, which they have been informed, has the potential to impair their job performance. The employee shall advise the supervisor of the known side effects of the prescribed medication, and the prescribed period of use. b) The supervisor shall document this information through the use of an interoffice memorandum and forward it through the chain of command to their division commander who shall determine whether the employee will be permitted to work in their assigned duty. c) The employee may be temporarily reassigned to other duties, where appropriate or placed on sick leave. 4. No employee shall ingest any prescribed or over the-counter medication in amounts beyond the recommended dosage. 5. Any employee who unintentionally ingests, or is made to ingest a controlled substance shall immediately report the incident to their supervisor so that appropriate medical action may be taken to ensure the members health and welfare. 6. No employee shall report for duty while under the influence of alcohol. 7. Any employee having a reasonable basis to believe that another employee is illegally using, or in possession of any controlled substance, or is under the influence of alcohol shall immediately report the facts and circumstances to their supervisor. 8. Violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. B. APPLICANT DRUG TESTING: 1. All applicants applying for a sworn or civilian position with the Sheriff s Office shall be required to take a drug test as a condition of employment during a pre-employment medical examination. 2. Applicants shall be disqualified from further consideration for employment under the following circumstances: a) Refusal to submit to a required drug test. b) A confirmed positive drug test indicating drug use prohibited by this policy. C. PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEE DRUG TESTING: All probationary employees shall be required, as a condition of employment, to participate in any unannounced mass/mandatory drug tests scheduled for the probationary period. The Sheriff or Chief Deputy in the employee s chain of command shall determine the frequency and timing of such tests. D. EMPLOYEE DRUG TESTING: Employees will be required to take drug tests as a condition of continued employment in order to ascertain prohibited drug and/or alcohol use, as provided below: 1. For sworn and civilian employees, a supervisor may order an employee to take a drug or alcohol test upon reasonable suspicion that the employee is or has been using drugs or alcohol. A summary of the facts supporting the order shall be made available to the employee prior to the actual test. 03/12/15 WDE/ga 2

3 2. For sworn employees, a drug test shall be considered as a condition of application to certain assignments within the Sheriff s Office, such as Metro VNI. 3. For sworn employees, at anytime, during an administrative/internal investigation. This could include incidents such as a deputy involved shooting or an accident involving serious bodily injury. E. DRUG TESTING LOCATIONS: During regular business hours, the supervisor requesting the drug test will notify the Personnel Unit and they will in turn notify County Human Resources. During normal business hours Mon-Fri 8 am 5 pm, all drug testing is done at CCOM, 1625 Medical Center Point #100 and/or CCOM at Sisters Grove Pavilion, 6011 E. Woodman Rd, #100. For after hours, weekends and holidays the supervisor will transport the employee to Penrose Main Hospital or Penrose/St Francis North Hospital for testing. If alcohol use is suspected, the requesting supervisor may choose to have the employee submit to a breath test, by using a preliminary breath test (PBT) system. The supervisor should take into account the confidentiality of the employee when determining what testing method to use. F. DRUG TESTING PROCEDURES: 1. The testing procedures and safeguards provided in this policy are to ensure the integrity of the Sheriff s Office and shall be adhered to by any occupational health employee sanctioned to administer drug and alcohol tests. 2. Any occupational health employee sanctioned to administer drug and alcohol tests shall require positive identification from each employee to be tested before they enter the testing area. 3. Testing personnel shall conduct a pre-test interview with each employee in order to ascertain and document the recent use of any prescription or non-prescription drugs, or any indirect exposure to drugs that may result in a false positive test result. 4. The bathroom facility of the testing area shall be private and secure. a) Authorized testing personnel shall search the facility before an employee enters it to produce a urine sample and document that it is free of any foreign substances. b) The employee to be tested shall disrobe before entering the bathroom facility, and be provided a light robe. c) Production of the urine sample shall be observed by testing personnel of the same sex as the employee. 5. Where the employee appears unable or unwilling to give a specimen at the time of the test, testing personnel shall document the circumstances on a drug-test report form. The employee shall be permitted no more than four (4) hours to give a sample, during which time he/she shall remain in the testing area under observation. Reasonable amounts of water may be given to the employee to encourage urination. Failure to submit a sample shall be considered a refusal to submit to a drug test. 6. Employees shall have the right to request that their urine sample be split and stored in the event of a legal dispute. The urine samples must be provided at the same time and marked and placed in identical specimen containers by authorized testing personnel. One sample shall be submitted for immediate drug testing. The other sample shall remain at the facility in frozen storage. This sample shall be made available to the employee or his/her attorney should the original sample result in a legal dispute or the chain of custody is broken. The other sample shall also be available to the Sheriff s Office for testing in the event of the loss or destruction of the first sample. 7. Specimen samples shall be sealed, labeled and checked against the identity of the employee to ensure the results match the tested specimen. Samples shall be stored in a secured and refrigerated atmosphere until tested or delivered to the testing lab representative. 8. Whenever there is a reason to believe that the employee may have altered or substituted the specimen to be provided, a second specimen shall be obtained immediately under direct observation of the testing personnel. 03/12/15 WDE/ga 3

4 9. The PBT will be conducted by the supervisor requesting the test and every attempt will be made to maintain the confidentiality of the tested employee. G. DRUG TESTING CONFIRMATION: 1. The testing or processing phase shall consist of a two (2) step procedure: a) Initial screening test. b) Confirmation test. 2. The urine sample is first tested using the initial drug screening procedure. An initial positive test result will not be considered conclusive; rather, it will be classified as "confirmation pending." Notification of test results to the Administrative Services Bureau Administrator shall be held until the confirmation test results are obtained. 3. A specimen testing positive will undergo an additional confirmatory test. The confirmation procedure shall be technologically different and more sensitive than the initial screening test. 4. The drug screening tests selected shall be capable of identifying marijuana, cocaine, and every major drug of abuse, including heroin, amphetamines and barbiturates. Occupational health employee utilized for testing will be certified as qualified to collect urine samples or adequately trained in collection procedures. 5. Concentrations of a drug at or above the following levels shall be considered a positive test result when using the initial immunoassay drug screening test: Initial Test Level (ng/ml) Marijuana metabolite 100 Cocaine metabolite 300 Opiate metabolites 300* Phencyclidine 25 Amphetamines 1000 * 25ng/ml if immunoassay specific for free morphine. Concentrations of a drug at or above the following levels shall be considered a positive test result when performing a Confirmatory GC/N4S test on a urine specimen that tested positive using a technologically different initial screening method: Confirmatory Test Level (ng/ml) Marijuana metabolite 15 (1) Cocaine metabolite 150 (2) Opiates: Morphine 300 Codeine 300 Phencyclidine 25 Amphetamines: Amphetamine 500 Methamphetamine The laboratory selected to conduct the analysis shall be experienced and capable of quality control, documentation, chain of custody, technical expertise and demonstrated proficiency in urinalysis. 7. Employees having negative drug test results shall receive a memorandum stating that no illegal drugs were found. If the employee requests, such a copy of the letter will be placed in the employee's personnel file. 8. Any employee who breaches the confidentiality of testing information shall be subject to discipline. 03/12/15 WDE/ga 4

5 H. CHAIN OF EVIDENCE - STORAGE: 1. Each step in the collecting and processing of the urine specimens shall be documented to establish procedural integrity and the chain of custody. 2. Where a positive result is confirmed, urine specimens shall be maintained in secured, refrigerated storage for a period of two (2) years, unless otherwise directed by the Sheriff s Office Legal Advisor. I. DRUG TEST RESULTS: All records pertaining to Sheriff s Office required drug and alcohol tests shall remain confidentially placed in the employee s confidential medical file and shall not be provided to other employers or agencies without the written permission of the person whose records are sought. 03/12/15 WDE/ga 5