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BOE pushes for drug testing on employees
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Posted on Aug 02 2004
The Board of Education is pushing to adopt regulations regarding drug testing on Public School System employees in hopes of furthering its efforts in providing “safety in the workplace and in the community.”
According to the BOE, the regulations would be implemented for all PSS employees who occupy “safety sensitive positions.”
“Safety sensitive positions will include those charged with the responsibility of transporting students or maintaining [PSS] vehicles,” the BOE said in its proposal. “Testing will be required pre-employment and at random for [these] positions.”
Further, the BOE indicated that the implementation of the regulations also intends to further “improve job performance so that integrity of the workplace and achievement of PSS’s mission are preserved.”
“PSS realizes that alcoholism, problem drinking and drug addiction are treatable illnesses. Employees who have problems with drugs and alcohol are encouraged to utilize all available resources to resolve their problems before those problems affect their job performance,” the BOE said.
Meanwhile, the BOE indicated that the screening process would be managed by the Alcohol and Drug Free Workplace Section of the Office of Personnel Management.
The regulations also include “post accident and reasonable suspicion testing” for all PSS employees upon appropriate training of PSS supervisors.
The proposed regulations were recently submitted to the Office of the Attorney General for review. (Shan Seman)
