Pre-Employment Drug Screening Guidelines
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If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. .- \.3 '7 <0 ( 3 PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG SCREENING GUIDELINES f· .~.!."" t.., NeDRS ;.. Wl' 20 1992 ACQUISIT10N~ I 1 I ~. __ l ... -.. ' .. --------~. ...-~ .. -.~~ ...... ~ ..... "'-.- .....--" .. -~----- .. -'" ,,"~, THE COMMISSION . ON PEACE OfFICER STANDARDS AND TRAINING . STATE OF CALlFORNIA • .. PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG SCREENING GUIDELINES • 1992 137613 U.S. Department of JUStice National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced ('Jxactly as received from the person or organization originating II. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those ot the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material has been grqo\!ld bY . .'. ca~I f Ornla COrnmlsslon on Peace -Officer Stancta:ros & TratID..n.g- to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further relJroduction outside of the NCJRS system require!. permls .. ; sion of the copyright owner. '\ The Commi~sion on Peace Officer Standards and Training • State of California • COMMISSIONERS ., Ronald E. Lowenberg Chief of Police Chairman Huntington Beach .. Edward Maghakian Western Region Safety Manager .. Vice-Chairman Waste Management, Inc. ... Sherman Block Sheriff Los Angeles County Jody Hall-Esser Chief Administrative Officer City of Culver City Edward Hunt District Attorney Fresno County Marcel L. Leduc Sergeant San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department Daniel E. Lungren Attorney General • Raquel Ivfontenegro Professor of Education California State University, Los Angeles Devallis Rutledge Deputy District Attorney Orange County District Attorney's Office Floyd Tidwell Retired Sheriff .. San Bernardino County Robert Wasserman Chief of Police ~ Fremont Norman C. Boehm Executive Director Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training • 111 • PREFACE This manual has been developed in response to the wishes expressed by California law enforcement in a recently completed POST survey concerning pre~employment drug screening policies and practices. An attempt is made in the manual to cover the full range of legal, technical, and procedural issues that should be considered when instituting a pre~ernployment drug screening program. While the intent of the manual is to provide general guidance to those agencies that are preparing to implement such a program, the information provided should also prove useful for purposes of evaluating ongoing programs. We welcome your comments and suggestions. ~ t:1kk- NORMAN C. BOEHM • Executive Director • v • TABLE OF CONTENTS POST COMMISSIONERS ........................................ iii ~ PREFACE ................................. "................. , v ,. TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................•................. vii INTRODUCTION " .- .......... , . .. .. 1 Statement of Purpose .......................................... 1 National Institute on Drug Abuse ................................. 1 Organization of the Guidelines . .. 2 LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS ..................................... 3 TECHNICAL ISSUES . .. 7 Specimens ..................... ,............................. 7 Analytical Methodologies ....................................... 8 Substances to be Tested ........................................ 9 • Laboratories . • . .. 12 PROCEDURAL ISSUES . • . .. 13 NIDA Recommendations ............ , ............ ,............ 13 IACP Drug Testing - Model Policy ... .. 19 Current Practices in California Law Enforcement Agencies ......... , . .. 20 Other Issues .......... , , . .. 20 SUMMARy ................................................. 23 .. GLOSSARY OF TERMS ....................................... 25 ~ BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................ ,................ 27 APPENDICES ................................................ 29 '.' Appendix 1 - POST Survey of Local Agency Pre-Employment Drug Testing Policies and Practices • VII Appendix 2 - Department of Health and Human Services Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs Appendix 3 - U.S. Dept. of Labor • Drug Fact Sheets Appendix 4 - Department of Health and Human Services Current List of Laboratories Which Meet Minimum Standards to Engage in Urine Drug Testing for Federal Agencies Appendix 5 - International Association of Chiefs of Police Model Policy - Drug Testing - Sworn Employees Appendix 6 - Drug Detection Periods Appendix 7 - Sample Drug Screening Consent and Medical Information Release Authorization • viii • INTRODUCTION • Statement of PurpC)se .. A recent POST survey of California law enforcement agencies (see Appendix 1) indicated that there is much interest in pre-employment drug screening. Slightly over one-third of the responding law enforcement agencies reported having a drug screening program, and more than half indicated that POST should provide general information or guidelines to those agencies that wish to establish their own programs. These guidelines have been developed in response to the widespread interest expressed for guidance from POST in establishing pre-employment drug screening programs. They have been developed solely for pre-employment screening and do not address employee testing whether random, for reasonable suspicion, or post-accident. The purpose of these guidelines is to assist local law enforcement agencies in establishing pre~employment drug screening programs that are as cost efficient and legally defensible as possible. The merits of such a program will no doubt vary as a function of the characteristics of the local applicant pool, the financial and other resources of the agency, the presence or absence of pre-employment polygraph testing, etc. In addition, local regulations or collective bargaining agreements may place limits on instituting such a program. The purpose of this document is not to influence the decision to institute pre-employment drug screening, but rather to assist an agency once • the decision has been made to conduct pre-employment drug screening. Concerned exclusively with pre-employment drug screening, these guidelines may be used to develop part of an agency's comprehensive substance abuse program. The U.S. Department of Labor recommends that a comprehensive program include: (1) a written substance abuse policy, (2) a supervisory training program, (3) an employee education and awareness program, (4) access to an employee assistance program (EAP), and (5) a drug testing program, where appropriate. More information on each of these areas can be found in the POST publication Substance Abuse Resource Manual (1988). National Institute on Drug Abuse ~ Great deference is given throughout these guidelines to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). NIDA is the federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services responsible for developing scientific and technical guidelines for drug testing programs for fedf.raJ agencies. The issuance of the "Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs" on April 11, 1988 (see Appendix 2) established an industry standard that is widely and highly respected. Often cited for their • defensibility, NIDA standards are referred to often throughout these guidelines . ~- ----~ --------~----- j)ruanization of the Guidelines These guidelines have been grouped in what is hoped will be a useful organization for the user agency. Following the "Introduction," is a brief discussion of legal issues, including court decisions and federal guidelines, concerning pre~employment drug • screening. After the "Legal Considerations" section is the "Technical Issues" section which discusses some of the decisions that must be made concerning specimen collection, analytical methodologies, substances to be tested, choosing laboratories, etc. The next major section is titled "Procedural Issues" and addresses the logistics of moving applicants through drug screening in a secure, efficient manner. Following that section is the "Summary," then a "Glossary of Terms" with definitions of some of the applicable vocabulary, followed by the "Bibliography." Finally, supporting documents are assembled in the "Appendices" section. • 2 • LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS • In the public !:iector, the principal grounds for challenging drug testing has been the .. Fourth Amendment which provides: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported .. by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized. The U.S. Supreme Court issued two decisions in 1989 which considered the applicability of the Fourth Amendment to the testing of government employees for drug usage. In one case, Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Association (1989) 109 S. Ct. 1402, the court held that drug and alcohol testing of employees was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment even though there was no requirement of a warrant or a reasonable suspicion that any particular employee might be impaired. The Court concluded that the government's compelling interest in safety outweighed the employee's privacy concerns. In the second case, National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab (1989) 109 S. Ct. 1384, the Supreme Court held that the U.S. Customs Service's drug testing program for its employees who transferred or promoted to a position involving (1) the carrying of firearms or (2) the interdiction