Paragraph 1.
The dangers and costs which alcohol and other chemical abuses can create in the electrical contracting industry in terms of safety and productivity are significant.  The parties to this Agreement resolve to combat chemical abuse in any form and agree that to be effective, programs to eliminate substance impairment should contain a strong rehabilitation component.  The parties recognize the EMPLOYER's right to adopt and implement a drug and alcohol policy subject to all applicable laws and regulations, procedural safeguards, scientific principles, and legitimate interests of privacy and confidentiality.  However, the UNION has negotiated regarding the terms of the EMPLOYER's policy.  When drug and alcohol testing is performed, all testing shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures outlined in this policy. Apprentices may also be subject to additional drug testing requirements as determined by the JATC.

Paragraph 2.
(a)  For the purpose of this Article, the phrase "Prohibited Substances" shall mean and include any illegal drugs, controlled substances (other than properly prescribed and utilized medications), look alike drugs, designer drugs, and alcoholic beverages.

 Drugs to be tested for include:
- Cocaine                - Benzodiazephines
- Marijuana             - Methaqualone
- Opiates                 - Propoxyphine / Darvon
- Phencyclidine        - Methadone
- Alcohol

Note: Illinois Prevailing Wage Drug Testing Law requires that Alcohol Testing be included.

(b) For the purpose of this Article, the term "Jobsite" shall include that portion of the site on which construction or construction related activities is taking place as well as that portion of the site or project which is used for parking, and shall also include automobiles, trucks and other vehicles owned or leased by the EMPLOYER.

Paragraph 3.
It is recognized that there are certain medications which may impair the performance of job duties and mental and/or motor functions.  In such cases, with the permission of an Employee and after consultation with such Employee's physician or other physician, the EMPLOYER shall attempt to accommodate an Employee.

Paragraph 4.
An Employee who is involved in the sale, possession, purchase or distribution of a Prohibited Substance on the jobsite may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.  An Employee who uses a Prohibited Substance on the jobsite or is determined to be under the influence of a Prohibited Substance on the jobsite, may be terminated.

Paragraph 5.
(a) Commencing January 1, 2011 Northeastern Illinois NECA and IBEW Local 701 drug testing policy requires mandatory random testing for all individuals referred by Local 701.

“Travelers” working within Local 701 must either be compliant with a local that has a reciprocal drug testing agreement with Local 701 or must otherwise be compliant with the Local 701 Drug Testing Program.

In addition to “bargained” employees, any contractor personnel or sub contractors working on jobsites must be compliant with this policy. Contractor personnel designated as “contact people” within a contractor’s organization must also be compliant with this policy.
   
(b) Urine specimens shall be collected only at facilities that meet the standards set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

(c) Random drug testing shall be at the rate of 50% per year of the entire group with an exclusion after the first selection. In addition, the entire group shall be tested at the rate of 10% per year with no exclusion. 

(d) Contractors will receive notification of random selection for drug testing of their employees and shall be responsible to notify the employee in a timely manner as directed by the LMCC. Employees shall be given a reasonable amount of time during the regular work day for drug testing including travel time.

(e) Contractors must designate one individual, and one alternate that will be responsible for receiving test notifications. The contact person and alternate must also be in compliance with the drug policy, must have attended the supervisor training class, and will be included in the pool for random testing. The contact person will notify the employee that the drug test must be taken before the end of the business day after notification. The person designated as the contractor contact person shall be subject to the same high standards of confidentiality as all others involved in the process. Any disclosure of the names of those tested or test results with other than need to know people, shall be considered a violation of employee confidentiality.

Persons who test positive for drugs or alcohol shall receive notification of services that are available through the Members Assistance Program.  Such test results will be kept confidential.  Persons who have test results returned as “adulterated” shall be treated as a “positive” result and shall not be issued a drug card.

Drug test results that are returned “diluted specimen” shall be considered as positive. The person being tested may appeal at which time they will be offered a hair sample test. Should the results of the hair sample test be returned as negative, these results shall stand as the final result and the test shall be paid for by the LMCC office. Should the results of the hair sample test be returned as positive they shall be considered as the final result. A positive result hair test shall be paid for by the donor.
 
EMPLOYER shall pay for any incident testing for cause and in the event of a negative response, reimburse the employee for all time spent, not to exceed sixteen hours at the straight time rate, and reinstate him to his former position.

EMPLOYERS requesting referrals shall submit to the UNION proof that all of its hourly employees who will regularly be present or perform work on the site including management, non-management, Union, and non-Union have been tested by a Local 701 MAP approved drug and alcohol program that meets or exceeds Local 701 standards and certify that all his hourly employees are drug-free.

The burden of compliance is upon the EMPLOYER to assure a drug-free workplace and the UNION assumes no liability for safety of the employer's facility or workforce.
 
Any Employee, drug-free card holder or otherwise, may only be tested for cause based upon an incident as defined in Paragraph 6 below.  If a "drug-free" Employee tests positive, his drug-free status will be forfeited.

Paragraph 6.
If the EMPLOYER has reasonable grounds to believe that the Employee is under the influence of or impaired by the use of Prohibited Substances or an Employee is involved or injured in a workplace accident, the Employee may, at the discretion of the EMPLOYER, be required to submit to a drug test.  It is agreed that under certain circumstances, an Employee whose work performance and/or behavioral conduct indicates that he or she is not in a physical condition that would permit the Employee to perform a job safely and efficiently will be subject to submitting a urine test and breath alcohol test to determine the presence of alcohol or drugs in the body, provided:

(a) Reasonable grounds include abnormal coordination, appearance, behavior, speech, odor, or any detectable amount of Prohibited Substance.

(b) All jobsite hourly employees, business agents, job referral administrators, and union stewards will be provided with a training program which will include the information required to make a proper determination as to the fitness for duty issues and proper implementation of this program.

(c) The Employee, if collectively bargained, shall have the right to have a representative of the UNION present, which may be the Business Representative.  If the Business Representative is not accessible within one (1) hour, the job steward or a co-worker of the Employee's choosing.

(d) The supervisor's reasonable grounds must be confirmed by another trained management representative so that a minimum of two (2) trained management personnel must be present in conjunction with a representative of the UNION, which may be the Business Representative, Job Steward, or Co-Worker if immediately available.  Both management representatives must describe such grounds in writing prior to any testing being directed.

(e) The Employee will be provided with an opportunity to explain his or her conduct at a meeting with the Representatives, including the Union Representative referred to in Section 6(c), provided that such Union Representative is reasonably available and provided further that all reasonable efforts have been made to attempt to have such Union Business Representative present within one (1) hour.

Paragraph 7.
An employee who refuses to submit to testing requested in Section 6 is subject to immediate disciplinary action, and will not be made compliant until an assessment of his fitness for duty is approved by the MAP office. Covered non-collectively bargained personnel shall be subject to internal company discipline procedures. Any applicant for referral who refuses testing two (2) times in a twelve (12) month period will be referred to the Business Manager for the option of an assessment by the 701 MAP Office as described in Paragraph 7(a) below or Executive Board Review as described in Paragraph 7(b).  The individual will have the option of:

(a) Voluntarily enrolling in the MAP program or his own private DASA (Department of Alcohol and Substance Abuse) approved program, which may recommend his release to return to work or continuance in the program.  MAP enrollees may be routinely tested for 180 days following enrollment in the Plan by the provider of care; or

(b) Appearing before the Executive Board of the UNION who may either send him to MAP and require the participant to fully participate in the MAP Program, or deny future employment through the referral system, or return the employee to referral with consultation and recommendation of the MAP Program.

The failure of an employer to bring their covered non-collectively bargained personnel into compliance with this policy will be treated as a violation of the policy and the administrator will notify the labor management committee that the employer is non-compliant with the policy. Notifications of such violations will be handled in the same manner as a grievance under the collective bargaining agreement and any decisions of the labor management committee will be final and binding.

Paragraph 8.
For cause, all drug testing shall take place at a recognized medical facility or certified, independent laboratory collection site at the expense of the EMPLOYER, who shall also bear the expense of transportation to the collection site.  The LMCC will reimburse the EMPLOYER for the cost of testing which results in a positive reading.

If a supervisor has observed any of the suspected behaviors stated previously in Paragraph 6:

- the employee may be asked to remove himself from the work site and report to a private, non-working area for an interview by the supervisor in the presence of a Union Representative, if available.

- the employee will be provided an opportunity to explain the behavior which has been observed.

- if it is determined that the employee was in an impaired condition, the employee will be suspended without pay and required to submit to a drug and alcohol abuse evaluation.

- the supervisor will immediately notify the Union Business Manager or his representative.

Paragraph 9.
When a test is required, the specimen will be identified by a code number, not by name, to insure confidentiality of the donor.  Each specimen contained will be properly labeled and made tamper-proof.

Paragraph 10.
The handling and transportation of each specimen will be properly documented through the strict chain of custody procedures.

Paragraph 11.
Any urine sample taken for testing must be tested as follows:
(a) For screening; and
(b) In the event the screening test is positive, for confirmation testing by gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometry (GC/MS).  This test will be on a specimen taken with the original specimen used at the initial screening. The initial test shall be paid for by the EMPLOYER.  Any subsequent retest shall be paid by the requesting employee and shall be conducted within two (2) working days of the employee's notification of the positive test result.

Paragraph 12.
All testing shall be performed in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the National Institute of Drug Abuse  and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Paragraph 13.
The EMPLOYER, the UNION, and all of the medical personnel, and the personnel of the laboratory/testing facility shall adhere to the American Occupational Medical Association's Code of Ethical Conduct for physicians providing occupational medical services and to the AOMA Drug Screening in the workplace Ethical Guidelines.

Paragraph 14.
(a)An Employee undergoing testing for cause shall be placed on an unpaid leave of absence pending the results of the screening test.

(b) In the event that the results of the screening test are negative, the employee shall be paid for all time involved in the testing process including time of transportation to the testing site with back pay not to exceed sixteen hours at the straight time rate.  In the event that the results of the screening test are positive, there shall be confirmation testing as described in Paragraph 11(b) above.  In the event the results of the confirmation testing are negative, the Employee shall be reinstated with back pay not to exceed sixteen hours at the straight time rate.  Unless an initial positive result is confirmed as positive, it shall be deemed negative and reported by the laboratory as such.  An employee tested and confirmed as positive may be removed from the work site.

(c) In the event that the results of the confirmation testing are positive by virtue of a urine and breath alcohol screen of greater than .02 and less that .05, the following applies:

    (1) Rescind drug free status 
    (2) Can be terminated
    (3) No reimbursement for time of testing
    (4) Upon the second occasion within a twelve (12) month period, the employee, if collectively bargained, will be referred to the Business Manager for the option of an assessment by the 701 MAP Office or Executive Board Review as described in Paragraph 7(b).

(d) In the event that the results of the confirmation testing are positive by virtue of a urine and breath alcohol screen of greater than .05, the following applies:

    (1) Rescind drug free status 
    (2) Can be terminated
    (3) No reimbursement for time of testing
    (4) Referral to the Business Manager for the option of an assessment by the 701 MAP Office or Executive Board Review as described in Paragraph 7(b).

(e) In the event that the results of the confirmation testing are positive by virtue of a substance other than alcohol described in this policy without proof of being properly prescribed and utilized by a licensed medical doctor, the following applies:

    (1) Rescind drug free status
    (2) Can be terminated
    (3) No reimbursement for time of testing
    (4) Referral to the Business Manager, if collectively bargained, for the option of an assessment by the 701 MAP Office or Executive Board Review as described in Paragraph 7(b).

Paragraph 15.
(a) An Employee who fails to cooperate, abandons, or does not complete the treatment program prescribed by the MAP counseling or Executive Board recommendation or fails to live up to the terms and conditions of the Referral Agreement will be subject to termination.

(b) If treatment necessitates time away from work, the EMPLOYER may provide for the Employee an unpaid leave of absence for purposes of participation in an agreed upon treatment program.  An Employee who successfully completes a rehabilitation program shall be reinstated to his or her former employment status, if work for which he or she is qualified exists.

(c) In order to ensure confidentiality in the MAP Program, the EMPLOYER and UNION shall each designate a person as the Employee Representative.  The results of a positive test will only be made known to:  the employee, the EMPLOYER (positive/negative information only), and the Business Manager.  Upon request, the testing facility and/or MAP Office shall make available to Employees, the Laboratory Reports concerning his/her positive test results.  The results of any positive test will not be released to any third party or outside agency unless required by law or with written permission of the Employee.

(d)  Whenever Owner or Awarding Agency specifications require the EMPLOYER to provide a drug-free workplace, such additional requirements may be incorporated herein upon mutual agreement of the UNION and the EMPLOYER.

Paragraph 16. 
All respects of this policy and program shall be subject to the grievance procedure of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Paragraph 17. 
All employees covered by this program will be required to sign an acknowledgment of the Drug Test Policy included on the chain of custody form. In addition the policy is available on the LMCC website at www.lmccdupage.org.