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unauthorized drugs shall not be permitted at the Employer's work sites and/or while an employee <br />is on duty. <br />34.2 INFORMING EMPLOYEES ABOUT DRUG AND .ALCOHOL TESTING <br />All employees shall be fully informed of the Fire Department's drug and alcohol testing <br />policy. Employees will be provided with information concerning the impact of the use of <br />alcohol and drugs on job performance. In addition, the Employer shall inform the employees on <br />how the tests are conducted, what the test can determine and the consequence of testing positive <br />for drug use. All newly hired employees will be provided with this information on their initial <br />date of hire. No employee shall be tested before this information is provided to him. Prior to <br />any testing, the employee will be required to sign a consent and release form. Employees who <br />voluntarily come forward and ask for assistance to deal with a drug or alcohol problem shall not <br />be disciplined by the Employer. No disciplinary action will be taken against an employee unless <br />he refuses the opportunity for rehabilitation, fails to complete a rehabilitation program <br />successfully, or again tests positive for drugs within two (2) years of completing an appropriate <br />rehabilitation program. <br />34.3 EMPLOYEE TESTING <br />Employees shall not be subjected to random medical testing involving urine or blood <br />analysis or other sixnilar or related tests for the purpose of discovering possible drug or aicohol <br />abuse. If, however, objective evidence exists establishing reasonable suspicion to believe an <br />employee's work performance is impaired due to drug or alcohol abuse, the Employer wili <br />require the employee to undergo a medical test consistent with the conditions as set forth in this <br />Policy. <br />34.4 SAMPLE COLLECTION <br />The collection and testing of the samples shall be performed only by a laboratory and by <br />a physician or health care professional qualified and authorized to administer and determine the <br />meaning of any test results. The laboratory performing the test shall be one that is certified by <br />the National Tnstitute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). The laboratory chosen shall be determined by the <br />Exnployer. The laboratory used sha11 also be one whose procedures are periodically tested by <br />NIDA where they analyze unknown samples sent to an independent party. The results of <br />employee tests shall be made available to the Medical Review Physician. Collection of blood or <br />urine samples shall be conducted in a manner which provides the highest degree of security for <br />the sample and freedom from adulteration. Recognized strict chain of custody procedures must <br />be followed for all samples as set by NIDA. The Association and the Employer agree that <br />security of the biological urine and blood samples is absolutely necessary, therefore, the <br />Employer agrees that if the security of the sample is compromised in any way, any positive test <br />shall be invalid and may not be used for any purpose. Blood or urine samples will be submitted <br />as per NIDA Standards. Employees have the right for Association or legal counsel <br />representatives to be present during the submission of the sample, except that the submission of <br />the sample shall not be delayed due to the unavailability of an Association representative or legal <br />counsel if the delay would adversely effect the sample to be taken. <br />30 <br />a'?