About

Policy 1412 – Employee Drug Testing Policy

Revision Date:  02/09/2023

Last Review: 02/09/2023

Original Effective Date:  07/01/1999

Responsible Office: Office of Human Resources

Reference:  ULS Policy M-(3)


Policy:

Louisiana Tech University believes that the workplace should be free from the risks associated with the use of alcohol and drugs.  The University has a legitimate interest in promoting reasonable working conditions and is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for employees, students, and the general public. 

The employees of Louisiana Tech University are the University’s most valuable resources, and the physical and mental well-being of these employees is necessary for them to properly carry out their responsibilities.

Substance abuse causes serious adverse consequences to users, impacting their productivity, health and safety, dependents, co-workers, and the general public. Therefore, the University will not tolerate any substance abuse, or use which imperils the health and well-being of its employees or threatens its services to the public.

The establishment of a drug-free workplace promotes safety, reduces absenteeism, and job related accidents, while enhancing overall job performance, productivity levels, and the image and reputation of this agency and its employees. Furthermore, employees have the right to work in a drug and alcohol-free environment and to work with persons free from the effects of drug or alcohol abuse.

The State of Louisiana has a long-standing commitment to working toward a drug-free workplace. In order to curb the use of illegal drugs by employees of the State of Louisiana, the Louisiana Legislature enacted laws which provide for the creation and implementation of drug testing programs for State employees. Further, the Governor of the State of Louisiana issued Executive Order No. BJ 2008-69, it provides for the promulgation of written policies mandating drug testing of employees, appointees, prospective employees and prospective appointees, pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statute  49:1001, et seq. 

Early recognition and treatment of drug dependency are essential to successful rehabilitation. Employees with substance abuse problems will be treated in a similar fashion to those 
with other illnesses or diseases. When an employee is treated in a bona fide rehabilitation program, absences will be handled in accordance with existing Louisiana Tech University
policies regarding disability, sick leave, or leave of absence. Those employees recognizing a substance abuse problem should feel free to seek assistance from their supervisor
or healthcare provider. 

Employees seeking such assistance shall be protected from abuse, retribution, and retaliatory action. Any employee participating in a counseling/rehabilitation program
will be expected to maintain satisfactory job performance as defined by their supervisor. 

Definitions:

    1. CAP-FUDT-Certified Laboratory – a laboratory certified for forensic drug testing by the College of American Pathologists. 
    2. Controlled Substance – any drug, chemical substance or immediate precursor in Schedules I through V of R. S. 40:964 or Section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812).  
    3. Conviction – a finding of guilt (including a plea of nolo contendere) or imposition of sentences, or both, by any judicial body charged with the responsibility to determine violation
      of the Federal or State criminal drug statutes. 
    4. Criminal Drug Statute – a criminal statute involving manufacture, distribution, dispensation, use or possession of any controlled substance. 
    5. Drug-Free Workplace – a site for the performance of work at which employees are prohibited from engaging in the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession or use of a controlled substance, in accordance with the Federal Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988.
    6. Employee – unclassified, classified, and student employees, student interns, and any other person having an employment relationship with Louisiana Tech University, regardless of the appointment type (e.g. fulltime, part-time, temporary, etc.). 
    7. Illegal Drug – any drug which is not legally obtainable or which has not been legally obtained, to include prescribed drugs not legally obtained and prescribed drugs not being used
      for prescribed purposes or being used by one other than the person for whom prescribed. 
    8. Medical Review Officer – a licensed physician responsible for receiving laboratory results generated by the employer or testing entity drug testing program who has knowledge of substance abuse disorders and has appropriate medical training to interpret and evaluate an individuals’ positive test result together with his medical history and any other relevant biomedical information. 
    9. Reasonable Suspicion – belief based upon reliable, objective and articulable facts derived from direct observation of specific physical, behavioral, odorous presence, or performance indicators and being of sufficient import and quantity to lead a prudent person to suspect that an employee is in violation of this policy.
    10. Safety-Sensitive or Security-Sensitive Position – a position determined to contain duties of such nature that the compelling State interest to keep the incumbent drug-free outweighs the employees’ privacy interests. If any position within Louisiana Tech University is determined to be safety-sensitive or security-sensitive within the meaning of this policy, that position shall be identified by job title on a list which shall be attached hereto and made a part hereof.
      Such list shall be determined with consideration of statutory law, jurisprudence, the practices of the agency and the following examples of safety-sensitive and security-sensitive positions.

      Positions with duties that are required or are authorized to perform the safety inspection of a structure;
      Positions with duties that are required or are authorized to have access to a prison or incarcerated individual;
      Positions with duties that are required or are authorized to carry a firearm;
      Positions with duties that allow access to controlled substances (drugs);
      Positions with duties that are required or are authorized to inspect, handle, or transport hazardous waste as defined in R. S. 30:2173(2) or hazardous material as defined in R. S. 32:1502(5);
      Positions with duties that are required or are authorized to exercise any responsibility over power plant equipment; 
      Positions with duties that are required or are authorized to exercise any responsibility over power plant equipment;
      Positions with duties that require instructing or supervising any person to operate or maintain, or that may require or authorize operating or maintaining, any heavy equipment or machinery; and
      Positions with duties that require or authorize the operation or maintenance of a commercial public vehicle or the supervision of such employee as a part of their regular job duty.
       

    11. SAMHSA-Certified Laboratory – a laboratory certified for forensic urine drug testing by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (formerly NIDA or National Institute on Drug Abuse).
    12. Workplace – any location on agency property including all property, offices and facilities (including all vehicles and equipment) whether owned, leased or otherwise used by Louisiana Tech University or by an employee on behalf of Louisiana Tech University in the conduct of its business, in addition to any location from which an individual conducts Louisiana Tech University business. 

 

Procedures:

A. POLICY STANDARDS

Reporting to work or performing work with illegal drugs or controlled substances or while under the influence of and impaired by illegal drugs or alcohol is prohibited.

The illegal use, possession, dispensation, distribution, manufacture, or sale of controlled substances by employees at the work site, while on official State business off the work site, and while on call for duty is prohibited. 

Violations of such prohibitions by Louisiana Tech University employees including refusal to submit to drug testing when properly ordered to do so, is considered conduct detrimental to University service and may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination, and/or a directive to participate in a rehabilitation program.

Employees are required to notify their supervisor within five (5) days of conviction under any criminal drug statute where such conviction is the result of activity occurring in the workplace, while on official business, during work hours, or when on call for duty. An employee, who is convicted of violation of any criminal drug statute in the work situations stipulated in this subsection, may be subject to disciplinary action and/or a directive to participate in a rehabilitation program.

Pursuant to the Federal Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, the University shall report any criminal drug statute convictions listed in Subsection D to the Federal agency from which grants or contracts are received within ten (10) days after receiving notice from the employee or otherwise receiving actual notice of such conviction.

Employees will be given a copy of the Louisiana Tech University Employee Drug Testing Policy. Employees will be informed that they must abide by the terms of the policy as a condition of employment or continued employment. They will also be informed of the consequences of any violation of such policy. Notification of this policy shall be required as part of the orientation for new employees.

To assure maintenance of a drug-free workforce, it shall be the policy of Louisiana Tech University to implement a program of drug testing, in accordance with R. S. 49:1001, et seq., and all other applicable Federal and State laws, as set forth below. 

B. DRUG TESTING

Drug testing pursuant to this policy shall be conducted for the presence of marijuana, opioids, cocaine, amphetamines, and phencyclidine, in accordance with the provisions of R. S. 49:1001, et seq. Louisiana Tech University reserves the right to test its employees for the presence of any other illegal drug or controlled substance when there is reasonable suspicion to do so.

The Office of Human Resources shall be involved in any determination that one of the above-named conditions requiring drug testing exists. Upon such determination, Human Resources shall notify the supervisor of the employee to be tested, who shall immediately notify the employee where and when to report for the testing. At a minimum, the testing service shall assure the following.

  1. All specimen collections shall be performed in accordance with applicable Federal and State regulations and guidelines to ensure the integrity of the specimens and the privacy of the donors. Human Resources shall review and concur in advance with any decision by a collection site person to obtain a specimen under direct observation. All direct observation shall be conducted by a same gender collection site person. 
  2. Chain of custody forms shall be provided to ensure the integrity of each urine specimen by tracking its handling and storage from point of collection to final disposition. 
  3. Testing shall be performed by a SAMHSA- or CAP-FUDT-certified laboratory. 
  4. The laboratory shall use a cut-off of 50 ng/ml for a positive finding in initial testing for marijuana. 
  5. All tests of employees that are reported as positive by the laboratory must be confirmed by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. 
  6. All positive results of drug-testing shall be reported by the laboratory to a qualified medical review officer.

C. CONDITIONS REQUIRING DRUG TESTS

Louisiana Tech University shall require drug testing under the following conditions. 

  1. Reasonable Suspicion: Any employee shall be required to submit to a drug test if there is reasonable suspicion that the employee is using drugs. 
  2. Post-accident: Post-accident testing of an employee is required for the presence of drugs or alcohol following any accident if the accident occurred during the course and scope of employment, which necessitates, or should reasonably necessitate, medical attention to the employee as determined by the employee, the employee’s supervisor, or the department head, regardless of whether the employee actually desires, agrees to, seeks, or receives medical attention.  In addition to the above, each employee involved in an accident that occurs during the course and scope of employment shall be required to submit to a drug test if the accident, (a) involves circumstances leading to a reasonable suspicion of the employees’ drug use, (b) results in a fatality, or (c) results in or causes the release of hazardous waste as defined in R. S. 30:2173(2) or hazardous materials as defined in R. S. 32:1502(5).  The Director of Human Resources serves as the Post-Accident Testing Coordinator.
  3. Randomly, as a part of a monitoring program established by the executive agency to assure compliance with terms of a rehabilitation agreement; 
  4. Prior to hiring or promoting an employee to a safety-sensitive or security sensitive position or promoting to a higher safety-sensitive or security sensitive position; and 
  5. Randomly, for all employees in safety-sensitive or security sensitive positions. 

 

D. CONFIDENTIALITY

All information, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, and/or test results received by Louisiana Tech University through its drug testing program are confidential communications, pursuant to R.S. 49:1012, and may not be used or received in evidence, obtained in discovery, or disclosed in any public or private proceedings, except in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding or hearing, or civil litigation where drug use by the tested individual is relevant. 

 E. RESPONSIBILITY

The Office of Human Resources is responsible for assuring that each employee of Louisiana Tech University receives a copy of this policy, signs an acknowledgement of receipt form, and understands or is given the opportunity to understand and have questions answered about its contents. 

F. VIOLATION OF THE POLICY

Violation of this policy, including refusal to submit to drug testing when properly ordered to do so, shall result in actions up to and including termination of employment, and in the case of post-accident testing, may result in the denial of worker’s compensation benefits. Each violation and alleged violation of this policy shall be handled on an individual basis, taking into account all data, including the risk to self, fellow employees, and the general public.

Upon receipt of official notification that an employee’s confirmatory drug test was positive, the employees’ supervisor may offer the employee the opportunity to undergo rehabilitation as an alternative to disciplinary action. Such rehabilitation program shall be acceptable to the Director and shall be completed at the employee’s expense. The employee shall be required to sign a rehabilitation agreement, which specifies the nature and duration of the rehabilitation program and which provides for periodic random testing for a period not to exceed five years.