CLERK SAYS SHE FROZE UP DURING TEST

Debate Erupts Over Procedure In North Mobile County Municipality

CREOLA -- City Clerk Treva Mayfield said she was dealing with a
crisis over broken pipes at City Hall on Monday morning when she got
a call from the Police Department next door: She was to show up for a
surprise drug test being given to all Creola city employees that
morning.

Mayfield said she was too busy just then. Eventually, after several
unsuccessful attempts by the testing company to obtain a urine sample
from her, she left City Hall.

Police Chief Mike Williams said he considered her behavior suspicious.

Mayfield said she was too embarrassed to provide a sample in front of
a female nurse. Her failure to participate in the testing sparked
debate in Creola and around the county, as callers to talk radio
shows debated the merits of her argument.

"I feel like someone's been violated, you've been raped or something,
and they turn around and make you look bad," Mayfield said.

Eighteen workers, including the police chief, were tested Monday. One
other female employee had expressed some reservation about being
observed but finally provided a sample, officials said. Mayfield was
the only one who did not.

Mayfield was not offered alternatives to the urine test, according to
her, Williams and Mayor Cleo Phillips.

But Williams said Tuesday that employees who were truly uncomfortable
with the procedure may now be offered the option of giving a hair
sample instead. The hair test is more expensive than a urine test,
but a better test because it can detect illegal drug use three months
back, whereas urine tests generally detect only the past three days,
Williams said.

Mayfield and Williams said Mayfield went into a restroom several
times with the female nurse Monday and attempted to provide a urine
sample, but did not. Mayfield said the nurse stood in the small City
Hall bathroom within arm's length and stared straight ahead. She said
she just froze up.

What's next for Mayfield? The City Council may take up her case at
its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday. Meanwhile, she has taken
medical leave, was not at work Tuesday, and is expected to return to
work Friday.

Two Mobile drug testing companies said it wasn't standard practice to
observe the collection of urine samples.

David Walters, president of Gulf South Security, said his company
follows U.S Department of Transportation guidelines in collecting
urine samples from public and private employees.

"Generally, they should have an amount of privacy unless there is
reasonable suspicion," Walters said Tuesday.

That means taking a worker's purse and jacket and emptying their
pockets but allowing them to give the sample behind a closed door.
Reasonable suspicion means that an employee shows signs of using
drugs through behavior or physical signs, Walters said, or evidence
that an employee has tampered with a prior test.

He said it's not easy to beat the test, especially if it's random.
Some try to beat it by strapping a condom filled with someone else's
urine to the inside of their legs. Still, the temperature would give
it away, he said, and the person would need advance knowledge of the
test.

Tami Bell, office manager of the Industrial Health Care Network at
Springhill Medical Center, said employers generally have a policy
dictating how urine samples are to be collected. Some require
observation in all circumstances. Others follow the federal
guidelines, she said.

"All means should be taken to ensure privacy under the
circumstances," she said, quoting from federal guidelines.