Pubdate: Wed, 05 Jun 2002 Source: Advocate, The (LA) Copyright: 2002 The Advocate, Capital City Press Contact: http://www.theadvocate.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2 Author: Bobby Ardoin Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) JURY QUESTIONS DRUG-SCREENING SELECTION By BOBBY ARDOIN Special to The Advocate OPELOUSAS -- Some St. Landry Parish Police jurors want to know more about how a company the parish hired to test parish employees for drugs and alcohol is selecting the employees it screens. "It seems like we're getting the same people tested over and over. Why have (testing), if it's not being done all around? That's what is happening now. Some are tested over and over, while some of our employees haven't been called yet," said Parish Manager Ralph Nezat, who is also a police juror. The Police Jury adopted a random drug- and alcohol-testing policy in 1998. Personnel Committee members voted Tuesday to have representatives from Drug Testing Consortium of Eunice appear at a committee meeting next month to explain how workers are chosen for screening procedures. Nezat said he and former Juror Allen Guillory were tested several times, but none of the 11 other jurors has been tested since the policy was adopted. Jurors had agreed to be tested along with the employees. Nezat said he and Guillory, defeated in a bid for re-election, were the only two jurors who signed up to be tested. "Since we are the only ones who gave our Social Security numbers, we were the only (jurors) being called," he said. Frank said the Police Jury's substance-testing procedure is performed monthly with those workers selected for testing identified by Social Security numbers. When testing is scheduled to be performed on a Monday, Treasurer Karen Frank said Drug Testing Consortium representatives notify her on the Friday afternoon prior to the tests. At that time, the employees scheduled for the Monday testing are identified by their Social Security numbers, Frank said. Frank said she informs the workers' supervisors at 7 a.m. Monday who is scheduled for testing. It is up to the supervisors to notify the employees selected, she said. Nezat said the early-morning testing hampers the job performances of the employees chosen. "By seven o'clock, our people are out there already in the field, and by the time they get here an hour or two later and the testing is over, you've pretty much killed a day," Nezat said. Juror Pat Miller asked committee chairman Gary Courville to obtain a list of employees who have already been tested, but Courville said that might be illegal. Miller said Nezat should choose the workers to be tested and keep a record of those chosen. Frank said that would defeat the purpose behind random screening. She said employees who test positive for drugs or alcohol twice during a five-year period are automatically fired. Nezat said that happened last week when a heavy equipment operator was terminated after he tested positive for cocaine. Miller said jurors should have been notified about the man's termination and the matter considered by the Personnel Committee. Nezat said that wasn't necessary because the drug-testing policy indicates clearly what happens to employees who test positive a second time. "The man left (the Police Jury) on good terms. He really didn't have any animosity toward me over this, although he regretted losing the job," Nezat said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom