CITY EXPANDS DRUG TESTING

'Safety Sensitive' Jobs Subject To New Policy

HARRISONBURG - Earlier this month, Harrisonburg enacted a policy of
performing random drug and alcohol testing on all city employees
working in what officials call "safety sensitive" jobs.

And, officials said, violating the new drug policy will be grounds
for immediate dismissal.

According to the policy, which went into effect July 1, the 290
"safety sensitive" positions include all employees in the
Harrisonburg police and fire departments, the Emergency
Communications Center, the water treatment plant and at the Resource
Recovery Facility.

Employees whose jobs require them to deal directly with children -
such as lifeguards, preschool teachers and recreation workers - also
are considered working in "safety sensitive" positions.

The new policy also allows the city to test any employee it has
"reasonable suspicion" of drug and alcohol abuse.

The change, which has been in the works for about three years, is not
in response to any specific event, but rather is part of a "growing
trend" of safety precautions in use by other localities, said City
Manager Kurt Hodgen. The new policy does not save the city money on
insurance and will not affect the faculty and staff in Harrisonburg
City Schools.

"The city is a multimillion-dollar operation," Hodgen said. "We have
lots of people handling lots of things. We would rather err on the
side of caution because all it takes is one bad situation."

How It Works

Federal law has long required localities to perform random drug and
alcohol tests for anyone who must have a commercial driver's license,
such as snowplow or dump truck drivers employed by the Public Works
Department. Among these workers, half must be annually tested for
drugs and 10 percent for alcohol, said Jennifer Rhodes, director of
human resources for the city.

The new random drug tests, however, also will be given annually to 10
percent of the "safety sensitive" crew. The alcohol tests will be
given to 5 percent of that group.

Although the city chose which jobs to include in the random tests,
officials based their decision on the recommendation of the Federal
Transit Administration, Rhodes said. City workers in clerical and
administrative positions who do not work closely with children will
not be affected by the policy.

If an employee tests positive for drugs, he or she will be fired
immediately, Rhodes said. Workers whose blood alcohol content reaches
0.02 on a breath alcohol test will be suspended without pay for two
days; higher than a 0.04, and they're suspended for at least five
days.

Refusal to participate in either test will result in immediate
termination.

With the exception of the federally required drug tests for the
drivers, Rockingham County does not perform the random tests on its
employees, said County Administrator Joe Paxton.

A Few Complaints

Some city workers have complained to the city's human resources
department about the change, Rhodes said. The workers told her that
it wasn't fair that only specific departments and positions required
the random tests.

Brian Moore, the pool supervisor at Westover Pool, who is now subject
to the random tests, said he agrees with the workers.

"It's disappointing that this is important for some city positions
but not enough for all of them," Moore said. "As a libertarian, I
believe that this is an invasion of personal civil liberties."

One reason Harrisonburg will not test all employees, Rhodes says, is
cost. The tests cost about $45 each, she said.

It is unclear at this time how much the drug tests will cost
taxpayers.

The new policy will be paid "with new funds built into the budget,"
Rhodes said.