Tennessee Chapter: International Public Management Association for Human Resources

Substance Abuse Survey Results

Commercial Driver License positions –
Does your organization require drug testing for CDL holders?

	Yes	No
Pre-appointment	9	-
Random	10	-
Reasonable Suspicion	10	-

Does your organization have a zero tolerance for CDL holders?

	Yes	No
Pre-appointment	5	4
Random	-	9
Reasonable Suspicion	-	9

If your organization does not have a zero tolerance for CDL holders, do you have a standard form of corrective action for positive results?

Yes	No
9	1

If yes, please explain:

City	Explanation
Alcoa	Use of EAP of counseling. We have a 2 strike rule, but 1 offense could be terminating depending on severity.
Bartlett	1. Remove from driving duties at pay loss 2. Directed to city’s EAP for assessment 3. Cooperate and complete program required by EAP 4. Minimum of 6 drug/alcohol tests in 12 months
Cleveland
Columbia	Mandatory, EAP and rehab if recommended plus subject to additional randoms for two years. Zero tolerance if positive again.
Franklin	Any employee who tests positive for drugs is given ONE chance for rehabilitation. After that, if they test positive again, they are terminated.
Gallatin	Subject to immediate removal from job and disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Johnson City	Continued employment contractual agreement. Agreement must be followed for remainder of employment.
Metro Nashville Water Services	30 days suspension and demotion (demotion usually for 6 months but could be a year) and a return to work agreement signed.

Pre-appointment:

City	1^st Offense	2^nd Offense
Bartlett	Removal from employment	N/A
Cleveland	Denied employment.
Columbia	Do not hire.
Gallatin	We test at pre-employment. Failure to pass prohibits employment. We do not test current employees who later seek to obtain their CDL.
Jackson	Employee must successfully undergo rehab treatment.	Terminate.
Johnson City	Job offer refused.
Metro Nashville Water Services	Not accepted for employment.

Random:

City	1^st Offense	2^nd Offense
Bartlett	See steps #1-4 above.	Termination.
Brentwood	We have had a couple test positive and have allowed them to go through EAP and return to work. However, both have eventually left shortly after returning to work, so I am not so sure we will be as forgiving in the future.	Has never happened, but I don’t believe we would keep someone around who tested positive a second time.
Cleveland	Immediately removed from duty until evaluated by a SAP, complied with recommended rehab, and has a negative result on return-to-duty testing.	Termination.
Columbia	Each situation is looked at seperately based on prior history. A problem employee would be terminated and a good employee would get a 2^nd chance based on the above.	Termination.
Gallatin	Subject to immediate removal from job and disciplinary action up to and including termination.	Usually discharged.
Gatlinburg	One chance to attend EAP for drug counseling/in-patient treatment with written agreement that individual agrees to random drug screens for 2 years in addition to the scheduled random drug screens. A positive drug screen results in termination.
Jackson	Employee must successfully undergo rehab treatment.	Terminate.
Johnson City	Contractual agreement and mandatory referral to sap with successful completion of program and comply with contract.	Discharge.
Metro Nashville Water Services	30 days suspension and demotion (demotion usually for 6 months but could be a year) and a return to work agreement signed.	Termination.

Reasonable Suspicion:

City	1^st Offense	2^nd Offense
Bartlett	See steps #1-4 above.	Termination.
Brentwood	Has never happened.
Cleveland	Immediately removed from duty until evaluated by a SAP, complied with recommended rehab, and has a negative result on return-to-duty testing	Termination.
Columbia	Each situation is looked at seperately based on prior history. A problem employee would be terminated and a good employee would get a 2^nd chance based on the above.	Termination.
Gallatin	Subject to immediate removal from job and disciplinary action up to and including termination.	Usually discharged.
Gatlinburg	One chance to attend EAP for drug counseling/in-patient treatment with written agreement that individual agrees to random drug screens for 2 years in addition to the scheduled random drug screens. A positive drug screen results in termination.
Jackson	Employee must successfully undergo rehab treatment.	Terminate.
Johnson City	Contractual agreement and mandatory referral to sap with successful completion of program and comply with contract.	Discharge.
Metro Nashville Water Services	Not accepted for employment.

Public Health & Safety positions – (defined as positions that are responsible for the health, safety and welfare of the general public and their fellow employees. Classifications may include: Water Treatment, Hazardous Duty, Security & Related Law Enforcement, Fire, EMS & Related Support, and Care Givers)

Does your organization require drug testing for PHS positions?

	Yes	No
Pre-appointment	8	1
Random	9	1
Reasonable Suspicion	9	1

Does your organization have a zero tolerance for PHS positions?

	Yes	No
Pre-appointment	7	3
Random	2	7
Reasonable Suspicion	2	7

If your organization does not have a zero tolerance for PHS positions, do you have a standard form of corrective action for positive results?

Yes	No
3	1

If yes, please explain:

City	Explanation
Alcoa	Use of EAP of counseling. We have a 2 strike rule, but 1 offense could be terminating depending on severity.
Columbia	Treated the same as CDL holders.
Franklin	Any employee who tests positive for drugs is given ONE chance for rehabilitation. After that, if they test positive again, they are terminated.
Gallatin	Subject to immediate removal from job and disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Jackson	Same policy as above.
Metro Nashville Water Services	30 days suspension and demotion (demotion usually for 6 months but could be a year) and return to work agr. signed.

Pre-appointment:

City	1^st Offense	2^nd Offense
Cleveland	Denied employment.
Gallatin	We test at pre-employment. Failure to pass prohibits employment. We do not test current employees who later are promoted into safety-sensitive jobs.
Johnson City	Job offer refused.
Metro Nashville Water Services	Not accepted for employment.

Random:

City	1^st Offense	2^nd Offense
Brentwood	We have never had anyone test positive. Our policy allows for reviewing each situation on a case by case basis using such factors as tenure, performance, etc. I would guess that a police officer testing positive would meet with a no tolerance policy.	Not specifically spelled out in our policy, but my feeling is that any second offense would be no tolerance.
Cleveland	Immediately removed from duty until evaluated by a SAP, complied with recommended rehab, and has a negative result on return-to-duty testing	Termination.
Gallatin	Subject to immediate removal from job and disciplinary action up to and including termination.	Usually discharged.
Johnson City	Contractual agreement and mandatory referral to sap with successful completion of program and comply with contract.	Discharge.
Metro Nashville Water Services	30 days suspension and demotion (demotion usually for 6 months but could be a year) and a return to work agreement signed.	Termination.

Reasonable Suspicion:

City	1^st Offense	2^nd Offense
Brentwood	We have never had anyone test positive. Our policy allows for reviewing each situation on a case by case basis using such factors as tenure, performance, etc. I would guess that a police officer testing positive would meet with a no tolerance policy.
Cleveland	Immediately removed from duty until evaluated by a SAP, complied with recommended rehab, and has a negative result on return-to-duty testing	Termination.
Gallatin	Subject to immediate removal from job and disciplinary action up to and including termination.	Usually discharged.
Johnson City	Contractual agreement and mandatory referral to sap with successful completion of program and comply with contract.	Discharge.
Metro Nashville Water Services	30 days suspension and demotion (demotion usually for 6 months but could be a year) and a return to work agreement signed.	Termination.