1.13 Drug and Alcohol-Free Workplace
I. Purpose
It is the policy of Bucks County Community College to maintain a working environment that is free of the ill effects of alcohol and other drug use/abuse.
II. Scope
This policy is applicable to all categories of college employees and to all locations where the college offers services or programs.
III. General
- It is a violation of policy for any employee to possess, sell, trade, or offer for sale illegal drugs or otherwise engage in the use of illegal drugs on the job. This includes the dispensing of otherwise legal drugs to a person who is not authorized to receive such drugs, or a person not authorized to deliver such drugs.
- It is a violation of policy for any employee to report to work under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol, including the abuse of prescription medication. (It is not a violation of policy for an employee to use legally-prescribed medications, but the employee should notify their supervisor if the prescribed medication will affect their ability to execute their job duties and responsibilities.)
- It is a violation of policy for any employee to be in the possession of alcohol with the intent to consume or cause others to consume it on college grounds. It is a violation to be in possession of alcohol in open containers on college grounds. Alcohol may be consumed by employees on college grounds only in conjunction with official Bucks County Community College functions at designated locations or at events where previous approval by the President of the college has been obtained.
- It is the policy of Bucks County Community College that in the event of any conviction for a criminal drug violation occurring on college property, in a college facility, or while in or operating a college owned or leased vehicle, the employee must notify the Director, Security and Safety, within five (5) days of the date of the conviction.
- It is a violation of the policy of Bucks County College to be convicted for any criminal drug violation, including a Summary Offense, regardless of the location where the possession, distribution, sale or usage occurred. If such an event occurs, the employee must notify the Executive Director, Human Resources within five (5) days of the date of the conviction.
- It is the policy of Bucks County Community College to make Employee Assistance Services available to all employees for confidential, professional assistance in addressing any personal concerns about the use or abuse of alcohol or any other drug.
Disciplinary Action
Violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including discharge from employment.
IV. Procedures
In compliance with Federal Regulations stipulated by the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988, the college will:
- Maintain a good faith effort to provide and preserve a drug-free work place by continuing to observe the following requirements.
- Annually disseminate this policy to all employees and make it a part of the information packet given to all new employees. Communicate to affected employees the employer’s policy of maintaining a drugfree workplace, the dangers of workplace drug abuse, the penalties the employer will impose for drug violations, and information about any drug counseling, rehabilitation, or employee assistance programs.
- Include in the statement a notice to employees working on covered grants and contracts that as a condition of such work they must obey the prohibition and notify the employer within five days of their conviction for violating any criminal drug law by action in or out of the workplace and that this information will be provided to the granting agency within ten (10) days of the conviction. Provide a copy of this statement to employees working on covered grants and contracts.
- Include in the statement a notice to all employees that they must obey the prohibition and notify the employer within five (5) days of their conviction (including Summary Offenses) for violating any criminal drug law in or out of the workplace. Provide a copy of this statement to all employees.
- Notify the granting or contracting agency within ten (5) days after learning of an employee's conviction of a violation of the drug laws.
- Within 30 days of learning of such a conviction, discipline the employee or require that he/she complete a drug rehabilitation program.
- Conduct drug and/or alcohol testing at WORKNET Occupational Medicine, 360 N. Oxford Valley Road, Langhorne, Pennsylvania, or other designated facilities, under the following conditions:
Definitions
Reasonable Suspicion: When a supervisor observes and documents signs and symptoms that an employee may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or observes other actions or behaviors that indicate a potential violation of the drug-free workplace policy, he/she will corroborate the suspicion with another management-level employee, to include members of the Safety and Security staff. When a co-worker observes and documents signs and symptoms that an employee may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or observes other actions or behaviors that indicate a potential violation of the drug-free workplace policy, he/she will report the suspicion immediately to his/her supervisor, or in the absence of the supervisor, to the Director of Security and Safety or designee.
Under corroboration, the supervisor or Director, Security and Safety, or designee, will contact the Office of Human Resources to arrange for a drug/alcohol test at the designated third-party facility. The employee will be transported to and from the facility via the Office of Security and Safety or by taxi or other college-approved means, at the expense of the college. The employee who is suspected of drug/alcohol use or a policy violation is immediately placed on administrative leave with pay and may not return to work while awaiting the results of reasonable suspicion testing and consideration of the matter. Arrangements for the employee’s safe transport home will be at the discretion of the Executive Director, Human Resources, in conjunction with the employee’s supervisor (or designee) and/or Director, Security and Safety. Failure to submit to a drug/alcohol test may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
Post Accident: When an employee has an accident on or off-site in a work-related capacity that results in one or more of the following: fatalities; injuries that require anyone to be removed from the scene for medical care; damage to college vehicles or college property; and/or citations issued by the police for driving under the influence (DUI), the college will order a drug/alcohol test be performed by its third-party facility (WorkNet Occupational Medicine) as soon as possible following the incident to determine whether drugs and/or alcohol were a factor in the accident. In the event the employee is transported by ambulance to a hospital for treatment, the employee is required to provide drug/alcohol test results from the hospital to the college.
The employee is immediately placed on administrative leave with pay and will not be allowed to return to work following the accident, until the results of the drug/alcohol test are received and reviewed by the college and a reasonable determination can be made about the cause of the accident and any disciplinary action, if warranted.
Return-to-Duty: When an employee, who has tested positive under the auspices of reasonable suspicion or post-accident, as outlined above, has completed the required treatment for substance abuse and is ready to return to the workplace, the college will order a pre-return drug/alcohol test. Results of this test determine if the employee will be allowed to return to work or if the college will proceed to further disciplinary action, up to and including termination, based on the egregiousness of the incident/offense and/or if there have been more than one violation of the policy.
The college reserves the right to pursue further disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment at Bucks County Community College for any of the following: violation of any section of this policy, refusal to take a drug or alcohol test, refusal to sign an authorization for release of test results to the college, and/or attempts to delay the testing process.
V. Approval
Board of Trustees, October 9, 2014
VI. Responsibility
Executive Director, Human Resources