City Adopts Updated Drug and Alcohol Policies

Laws against drinking before driving are clearly stated. Drinking while carrying a CDL license is tighter yet, and the use of opioids was recently added to the mix.

Sidney's Human Resources Director Jo Houser met with the Sidney City Council Tuesday regarding modifications to the City's Drug and Alcohol policies. Houser said in the council meeting one of the additions to the policy is testing for opioids.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States is in an opioid overdose epidemic. The CDC website said opioids including prescription opioids, heroin and fentanyl killed more than 42,000 people in 2016. The site also says 40 percent of all opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid. Prescription opioids can be prescribed by physicians for treatment of pain. Common types of prescribed opioids are oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin) morphine and methadone. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain reliever 50 to 100 times more powerful than other opioids. It is approved for treating severe pain, typically advanced cancer pain. The CDC site also reports illegally manufactured and distributed fentanyl has been on the rise in several states.

Houser said the policies are related to CDL requirements and requirements from the Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carriers Safety Association (DOT-FMCSA) AND Federal Transit Administration (DOT-FTA). The initial drug and alcohol program was approved by council in 1996, and changes to the DOT-FTA program were approved in April 2014.

The City's testing policy includes pre-employment screening, random drug testing, testing due to reasonable suspicion and post-accident screening.

Houser said if an employee's drug test comes back positive, the employee meets with the medical review officer to discuss the test. If a random test returns positive, the employee may be referred to a drug and alcohol counselor and tested upon return to duty. The DOT-FTA (bus drivers) are terminated if a test returns positive.

The new policies go into effect immediately, according to Houser.

“Because of grant funding we receive from the Nebraska Department of Transportation, the DOT-FTA policy needs to be submitted to NDOT with Council approval by July 1 to stay in compliance with their guidelines,” she said.

Houser said after the meeting that testing is done by a third party agency. The City does not choose who is selected for random testing.

“It is very objective,” she said.

Houser said she got notification of the changes near the end of May. The City's response needs to be turned in by July 1. In her presentation to the city council, Houser recommended adoption of the policy to stay in compliance with federal regulations.