Pubdate: Wed, 09 Apr 2003 Source: Daily Iowan, The (IA Edu) Copyright: 2003 The Daily Iowan Contact: http://www.dailyiowan.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/937 Author: James Baetke Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) CORALVILLE 'TWEAKS' DRUG-TEST POLICY Coralville City Council slightly altered its substance-abuse policy to allow operators who drive heavy machinery to retake a drug test immediately should they fail. "It was just some tweaking of the first policy," said Councilor Henry Herwig. Passed unanimously, the resolution slightly adds to the 53-page policy on procedures the city takes toward those who operate buses and heavy equipment in the Parks and Recreation Department and the Streets Department. The resolution gives employees who fail a drug test an immediate opportunity to retake the test at their own cost, Herwig said. The amendments also designate a transit employee to handle the case in the instance that Coralville's risk manager is not available. Councilor Dave Jacoby said the policy needed fine-tuning because the city was looking at national drug policies and decided to localize its regulations on substance abuse. The substance-abuse policy mandates that those who operate heavy machinery for the city are given random drug tests to ensure the safety of the employee and residents of Coralville and to comply with the Federal Transit Administration Law of 1993. If results come up positive, individuals are given an opportunity to enter a drug-treatment counseling program paid for by the city, said Coralville Human Relations Director Michael Funke. Upon the completion of the drug program, individuals are tested again before returning to their duties and are subject to six periodic tests thereafter. If they test positive a second time, individuals are terminated. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom