Cross Roads
Drug and Alcohol Testing Decisions
Road Supervisors Must Make
Presented by Diana Byrnes, CUTR
Welcome
Diana Byrnes
Center for Urban Transportation Research
FDOT Oversight and Technical Assistance
Program
C-SAPA
As a road supervisor you:
Are the eyes and ears of your transit
system
Need to be vigilant
Need to be empowered
Need to stay educated
Can be your transit system’s greatest
asset!
Today we are going to
examine two test types
that require a supervisor to
make testing decisions:
Reasonable Suspicion
and
Post Accident
Making Reasonable
Suspicion
Determinations
What is Reasonable Suspicion
Testing?
Reasonable suspicion testing is NOT a
diagnostic tool.
Testing is used only to rule out the
possibility that the unusual behavior or
appearance being observed may be
caused by prohibited drug use or
alcohol misuse
Most underutilized test type
Often too few trained supervisors
Supervisory Role
When it comes to reasonable suspicion
testing; any one who has met at least the
minimum FTA training requirements for
Reasonable Suspicion Determinations is
able to “make the call”
Job title is not a factor
Dispatchers are excellent candidates for
this authority!
Frequently interact with operators
FTA Training Requirements
Minimum of 60 minutes of training on the
signs and symptoms of probable prohibited
drug use AND
Minimum of 60 minutes of training on the
signs and symptoms of probable alcohol
misuse
The training is only required ONCE during the
tenure of employment
More than the minimum is highly
recommended
Refresher training is highly recommended also
Requirements
Regulations require that only one trained
company official needs to witness the
behavior to “make the call”
The referral must be based on specific,
contemporaneous, observations
concerning the appearance, behavior,
speech or body odor of the covered
employee
Prohibited Behavior
Safety sensitive employees are prohibited
from consuming alcohol four hours prior to
performing a safety sensitive function
Safety sensitive employees are prohibited
from using drugs at all times while
employed
Recognizing Signs and Symptoms
Clean, Sober and Safe identifies the five
prohibited drugs and the associated signs
and symptoms
Let’s take a look
Making the Call to Test
Criteria for Making Testing Referral
Consider only objective facts; your personal
opinions do not count
Apply the “reasonable and prudent rule.” Ask
yourself; “Would another similarly-trained
supervisor having observed the same indicators
come to the same conclusion? Would it be
irresponsible of me not to order the test and
allow the employee to perform safety/sensitive
work?”
Criteria for Making Testing
Referral (Cont’d)
Consider employee fitness for duty. In
his/her present condition, could the
employee present a safety risk to
himself/herself or others by continuing to
perform safety-sensitive work?
How to “Make the Call”
Remove employee from
safety/sensitive duties
Isolate employee and conduct
interview/evaluation in a private setting
Be confident, diplomatic, polite, and
mindful of the privacy and dignity of
the employee.
How to “Make the Call” (Cont’d)
Be objective - your personal opinions are
not the issue
Inquire, not accuse
Use tone of voice and body language
that does not make the employee
defensive.
How to “Make the Call” (Cont’d)
Observe and document unusual
behavior, appearance, or odor
Give employee opportunity to explain
behavior or event from his/her
perspective and respond with respect
(avoid or limit “you” statements)
Expect denial, do not lose focus
Consider medical condition
How to “Make the Call” (Cont’d)
Make reasonable suspicion
determination to test or not to test
If employee refuses, explain the
consequences of refusal to comply
Escort employee to collection site and
arrange to have him/her transported to
home (under employer authority).
What the Supervisor
Must Not Do
Do NOT confront employee in front of
co-workers
Do NOT accuse employee of illegal drug
use or alcohol misuse
Do NOT diagnose abuse or addiction
Do NOT identify the specific drug
associated with the behavior or
appearance.
Documentation of Testing
Referral
Required under FTA rule Section
655.71(c) (iii)
Must be maintained for a minimum of
two (2) years
Document delay (after 2 hours) or
inability to test (after 8 hours) for
alcohol
See sample “Reasonable Suspicion
Testing Referral Form”.
Sample
Testing Scenario and
Role Play Exercise
Scenario
During lunch break you enter your
company’s restroom. As you approach the
door, you hear muffled laughter and
coughing. As soon as you enter the door,
the laughter abruptly stops and you hear a
sudden flurry of activity. There are three
safety/sensitive employees in the restroom
standing by the window – Karen, Dee, and
Janet
Scenario Continued
There is no noticeable smoke in the
restroom, but you smell the faint odor of
marijuana. As soon as you walk in, you
see Janet stuff what appears to be a small
pipe in the back pocket of her pants. All
three of them refuse to make eye contact
with you when you say hi. They belatedly
mumble hi. You notice that Karen and
Dee’s eyes looked glazed and slightly red
Scenario Questions
As a trained supervisor, what is your
responsibility in this situation?
Is a reasonable suspicion referral
necessary for any or all of the three
employees in this situation? If yes, on
what grounds?
Empowerment
Potential Excuses
Difficult to detect substantial proof of
impairment
Concern about union involvement or
possible discrimination lawsuit
For supervisors who rose through the
ranks, the employee may sometimes be
an “old buddy”
More Excuses
Testing is time-consuming and requires
other employees for transporting
A suspected employee is often a good
worker with high seniority
Lack of support from upper level
management
Inadequate supervisor training.
Encouraging Factors for Supervisors
Your employer expects supervisor
intervention; your policy spells it out
Supervisor could be held personally liable
if someone was hurt
Employee’s performance is not
dependable
Desire to see employee get help
Encouraging Factors for Supervisors
(Cont’d)
Employees who abuse drugs or misuse
alcohol have a bad effect on co-workers
Such employees often require a lot of
supervision
Helping the employee get professional
assistance also helps the employee’s
family.
Supervisor Role and Liability
Concerns
More and more civil and even criminal
courts are holding the front line
supervisor and the employer itself
responsible for the actions of employees
who may be impaired due to substance
abuse or alcohol misuse.
Empowerment
Training is not effective if supervisors are
not empowered to “make the call to test”
Management needs to foster a “safety
culture”
Emphasis should be on “fitness for duty”
Remove the accusatory stigma that is attached
with reasonable suspicion testing
Increase awareness of other possible factors
that can lead to impairment (e.g. Rx and OTC meds)
How to Empower
Management must support supervisors
Follow through with testing when supervisor has
brought the matter to mgmt.’s attention
Support supervisor’s decision to test-regardless of the
results
Implement policy consistently!!
Conduct refresher training annually
Frequently remind supervisors of the importance of
their role in protecting the safety of the traveling
public and fellow employees
Making Post Accident
Decisions
Responsibilities
Road supervisors are often charged with
determining when an accident meets the
threshold for conducting FTA required post
accident drug and alcohol testing. They:
are often the first company official on the
scene
should be well versed in post accident testing
criteria
should be authorized to consider all safety-
sensitive employees who may have contributed
to an accident
FTA Post Accident Criteria
Fatality of any party involved: TEST
If any party immediately receives medical
treatment away from the scene: TEST*
If one or more vehicles is required to be
towed away from the scene: TEST*
*Unless employee’s actions can be completely
discounted
Please see form provided
Making the Decision to Test
Use the best information available to you at
the time
Use a Post Accident Decision and
Documentation Form
Use only FTA established criteria (DO NOT
use a “better safe than sorry mantra”)
Consider all safety-sensitive employees (such
as mechanics)
Executing Decision to Test
First: ensure that any injured employee
receives prompt medical attention
Inform employee of requirement to test (if
employee does not remain readily available it’s a
refusal to test )
Allow law enforcement to complete
investigation
Transport employee to testing facility or
arrange for on-site urine collector and breath
alcohol technician
Testing Windows
Both drug AND alcohol testing must
always be conducted when criteria is met
Make every attempt to conduct tests
within 2 hours of event
Document cause of delay if tests are not
conducted within 2 hours of event
Cease attempts to conduct alcohol test
after 8 hours- document cause
Cease attempts to conduct drug test after
32 hours- document cause
Refusal to Test
Employees must remain readily available for
testing- refusing to do so may be deemed a
refusal to test
Other actions that constitute refusal:
Failure to cooperate with any part of the testing
process (including being medically evaluated or
submitting to an additional test or being
monitored or directly observed during testing)
Attempting to adulterate or substitute a specimen
or wearing a prosthetic device
Removal from Duty Under
Employer Policy
Some employers have made it their policy
to remove employees from safety-sensitive
duty until the results of the urine drug test
are received
Can only be done under agency authority (not
authorized by FTA or DOT)
Must be part of employer policy
Any Questions?