Drug and Alcohol Use Policy
It is the policy of Gospel Rescue Mission (hereafter: GRM) to prohibit personnel from the possession, sale, conveyance, distribution, use, manufacture, or the attempt to possess, use or manufacture illegal drugs, intoxicants, or controlled substances in any amount or in any manner that is a violation of law or this provision. The use of alcohol while performing job related duties on or off GRM premises is prohibited. Violation of this policy is grounds for immediate termination.
GRM will conduct its drug-free workplace policy and drug-testing program in accordance with Arizona law as well as other Federal, State and local laws and regulations, as they may apply. This will assure the fairness, accuracy, and confidentiality of the program.
Refusal to participate in any of GRM’s drug and alcohol testing programs will constitute grounds for immediate termination. Tampering, substitution, and/or adulteration of specimens will also constitute grounds for immediate termination.
GRM reserves the right to test its employees through saliva, urine, blood, hair, or any other matrix. Breath will be used for testing of alcohol levels during Reasonable Suspicion and Post Accident situations.
Drug Cutoff Levels: Gospel Rescue Mission adheres to current, accepted industry levels.
GRM is an “at will” employer and nothing in this Drug Free Workplace Policy will be construed as a contract for continued employment.
All current and potential employees of GRM are subject to the drug free workplace policy under the following conditions:
Post Offer: Applicants undergoing the hiring process will be given a drug test as a condition of employment. GRM will receive all results from the drug test. All newly hired employees testing positive as defined below will be terminated immediately. Should the results come back positive, GRM reserves the right to have the newly hired employee pay for the post offer drug test. All other testing expense will be the responsibility of GRM.
Post Accident: All employees who are involved in an accident while performing job related activities on or off GRM premises will be subject to a drug test. An accident is defined as: any accident that results in a death or bodily injury requiring medical treatment of any kind or resulting in a workers’ compensation claim, or involving property damage valued at $500.00 or more. Employees found to be positive for a post accident drug test will be terminated.
Employees found to be positive for a post accident drug test may be denied worker’s compensation benefits as allowed under the Arizona Revised Statute.
Reasonable Suspicion: Reasonable Suspicion is a belief based on objective facts sufficient to lead a reasonably prudent person to suspect that another person is involved in the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of alcohol or federally controlled substances in violation of this policy.
GRM reserves the right to search without consent all areas and property in which GRM maintains control or joint control, such as desks, file cabinets, equipment, etc.
Drug Testing performed under Reasonable Suspicion will be documented. The need to perform a drug test based on Reasonable Suspicion requires review of the documented incidences of Reasonable Suspicion by a manager, supervisor, or director level staff member. In addition, two employees, one of which must be of supervisory level or higher, must also observe and concur on the aberrant behavior.
Random Drug Testing: GRM will conduct a Random drug-testing program. Such a program will involve all employees of GRM. The selection is truly Random, which means that employees chosen for the test may be selected again in the next selection process. The Random selection will be conducted at a minimum annual rate of 50% of the Mission’s work force.
Due to the nature of GRM business, all procedures regarding the Random testing will be conducted with the utmost regard to confidentiality and in a strict chain-of-custody manner.
All specimen collection activities required as part of the Random program will be conducted during normally scheduled working hours, or immediately before or after normally scheduled working hours. Employees will be compensated at their normal wage for any time spent in completing such testing either just prior to or just after normally scheduled working hours.
Follow–Up: An employee who has successfully completed substance abuse treatment will be subject to periodic unannounced testing up to (6) times during the first twelve (12) months. This follow-up testing plan is in accordance with the regulations established by The Department of Transportation Workplace Drug Testing Programs Regulations. In addition, GRM will take into consideration the Substance Abuse Professional’s Follow–Up testing plan.
Returning to Duty: An employee returning to duty following a successful treatment program for substance abuse treatment will be subject to a drug and alcohol test prior to returning to work and at other times at the discretion of the Mission.
GRM reserves the right to test for any of the following drugs: marijuana metabolites, cocaine metabolites, amphetamines, opiates, alcohol, LSD, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, propoxyphene, phencyclidine, methadone, methaqualone, meperidine, tranquilizers, inhalants, solvents, psychoactive mushrooms, peyote, mescaline, or other poisons.
Drug Testing Procedures: All testing and handling of specimens and results will be in accordance with Arizona law. The urine, saliva or hair specimen will be collected, handled, transported, tested, and stored in a strict chain-of-custody manner. The collection and drug testing of specimens will be performed by a laboratory, certified or approved by the Department of Health and Human Services, the College or American Pathologist, and/or the Arizona Department of Health and Human Services.
Alcohol testing will be conducted on saliva specimens with the exception of Reasonable Suspicion testing. When testing for Reasonable Suspicion the alcohol testing will be performed using breath testing equipment by a certified Breath Alcohol Technician (BAT) and will include a confirmatory 2nd test within a 15 minute period for any initial test > 0.02%.
Confidentiality Protection: It is GRM policy that all drug test results shall remain confidential between GRM Administrators and the employee. All records and knowledge regarding details of the employee/applicant drug test results will be handled in a confidential manner such that only the designated Mission representative(s) and other Mission personnel involved in disciplinary action will have access to the results. GRM will not divulge the results to any party unless legally compelled to do so.
Access to Test Results: All employees have a right to request test results in writing. Request should be made to GRM Human Resources Manager.
Inability to Produce a Specimen: If a urine test is utilized and any potential applicant or employee is unable to produce a urine specimen, they will be given three (3) hours and up to approximately 40 ounces of water to drink during the three-hour period. If unable to produce a specimen after the three-hour period, test will be ruled as a refusal to test unless the potential applicant or employee can provide medical documentation of a condition that would cause an inability to produce a urine specimen.
Reporting to Duty: No GRM employee may report to duty while having an alcohol concentration of 0.04% or greater. No employee may report to duty within 4-hours of having consumed alcohol.
Prescription Medications: Personnel must report to the Human Resources Manager any prescription medications being taken in order to determine if the prescription may hinder work performance or jeopardize safety regulations.
Positive Drug Test Results: An employee or applicant whose specimen tests positive will be given the opportunity to explain the positive result upon request of the employee/applicant. If the results are due to the use of prescription drugs, the employee/applicant will be given the opportunity to verify the prescription. If it is determined that the positive result is due to the legitimate use of a prescription drug, the final result will be reported as negative. If a prescription cannot be verified, the final result will be reported as positive.
Initial drug tests will be performed by the EMIT method and initial saliva alcohol screening will be performed by kinetic enzyme as say. All confirmatory testing will be performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The tests will be reported as positive or negative relative to cutoff levels (refer to page 8). Only specimens which yield a positive result on both the EMIT test and the GC-MS test will be reported as positive.
Non-compliance with Drug and Alcohol Abuse Policy: Any employee in violation of GRM policy will be immediately terminated. Employees notified to stay on site to perform drug tests are required to stay until they have completed the drug test, immediate employment terminations will result for employees who leave site before completing drug test. Refusal to test for drug and alcohol will be considered a positive test and will result in termination of employment.
Possible Eligibility for Re-Hire: An employee who self discloses to the Human Resource Administrator the existence of a drug or alcohol problem prior to being selected for random drug testing and an employee who tests positive for drugs, may after successful completion of a treatment program and an evaluation of the employees work performance prior to leaving for treatment, be eligible for re-hire.
The employee must provide the Mission’s Human Resources Manager with documentation of successful completion of treatment, including the treatment program’s recommendation of the employee’s readiness to return to work and follow-up testing plan. If the employee does not have mental health insurance coverage, the Human Resources Manager will provide the employee with a list of local Substance Abuse Professionals, treatment clinics, and support groups in order for the employee to seek assistance.
A re-hired employee will be subject to a Return to Duty drug test immediately upon returning to work. The employee will be subject to a Follow-Up drug-testing program. Refusal to undergo any of these tests or testing positive will result in immediate termination. Any violations or non-compliance with any of the conditions mentioned above will result in immediate termination.
Notification of Criminal Drug Statute Conviction: Employees involved in any criminal drug statute conviction for a violation occurring in the workplace must notify Human Resources Manager no later than 5 days after such conviction.
