Reasonable Suspicion Training: Why It's Important for Workplace Safety

WEBINAR SERIES
503-479-6082 | www.cleanfleet.org

What is Reasonable Suspicion
Training & why is it so important?
by Lukas Shaw, CleanFleet
**Disclaimer – this webinar does meet any federal or state requirements for Reasonable Suspicion Training**
503-479-6082 | www.cleanfleet.org/workforce-reasonable-suspicion-training/

More than 70% of substance abusers are employed!
• With that come many issues:
– 65% of accidents on the job are related to misuse of drugs/alcohol
– 40% of all industrial fatalities are caused by substance abusers
– SHA reports that 10-20% of nation's workers who die at work also test positive
for drugs/alcohol
– Substance abusers are 3.5x more likely to be involved in accidents on the job
and 5x more likely to hurt themselves at work
– Substance abusers are 33% less productive than their peers
– Substance abusers double cost of worker comp claims for employers
– Drug abusers use up twice as many medical benefits as their coworkers

Marijuana is the most abused drug

Legalization of Marijuana in the U.S.

What has happened to states where marijuana is
legalized?
• Marijuana positivity increased 20% in Colorado and 23% in
Washington – both states where recreational marijuana use is legal
from 2013 to 2014, according to Quest.
• In Washington:
– Fatal road crashes involving marijuana has doubled after legalizing drug
– Approx. one-quarter of all drug treatment admissions are for marijuana
– Nearly half of all treatment admissions for marijuana are under the age of
18 – this is the highest proportion for any drug

The Opioid Epidemic is real
• The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that between 2013 and 2014 there
was an 80% increase in overdose deaths attributed to synthetic opioids, such as
fentanyl
• The American Society of Addictive Medicine found that, in 2015, 2 million adult
Americans had a substance use disorder involving prescription opioids

DOT Wants To Add Common Opioids To
Driver Drug Testing Panel
• The DOT proposed to add four commonly abused opioids: Hydrocodone,
hydromorphone, oxycodone, and oxymorphone to the driver drug testing panel in urine tests
• Slated to take effect October 1st, 2017 (unknown implementation date), HHS
indicated that approximately 1% of the submitted specimens is expected to be
confirmed positive for the added opioids
• Could Lead To The FMCSA Increasing Random Testing Rates Back To 50%

What is Reasonable Suspicion Testing?

Defining Reasonable Suspicion
• Reasonable suspicion is a broad term used to describe a set of
circumstances that indicate a reason to conduct an assessment of an
employee's fitness for duty. It is a reasoned conclusion drawn from
objective observations of the individual.
• A reasonable suspicion test is used to determine that alcohol or drugs are
not the cause of the observed behavior or appearance.

What RST is supposed to do and achieve
• As with any drug testing program:
• To prevent the workplace injuries and employee harm
• To decrease costs associated with injuries, employee turnover,
insurance, productivity issues, and absenteeism
• To protect workplace assets
• Gives company the eyes and ears throughout the workforce for safety
(supervisors are frontline defense for workplace safety)

Who Should take RST?
• Supervisors/managers of any employee covered by company’s drug and
alcohol policy
• HR Managers or DERs
• Senior Management
• Anyone else who is responsible for safety within the company

The Role of Supervisors in Reasonable Suspicion
• The supervisor's role is to identify the specific observations of employee
behavior or appearance, confront the employee concerning the
requirement to undergo reasonable suspicion testing, and fully explain
the consequences of the employee's refusal to comply.
• The supervisor's responsibility is to be alert to changes in the employee's
behavior and/or appearance, not to a specific set of symptoms associated
with each drug or drug class.
• The key to successful confrontation is to focus on the specific observations
of employee behavior and appearance.

Federal (DOT) Regulations around RST
(Best Standard if thinking about implementing RST in workplace)

History of Federal (DOT) Regulations around RST
• In 1988, the Department of Transportation issued safety regulations
requiring transportation employers to implement workplace anti-drug
policies and programs
• The anti-drug rules require urine drug testing for illicit controlled
substances. Pre-employment, post-accident, reasonable-suspicion,
random, and return-to-duty testing is required.
• In 1994, the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act included 3
million more employees subject to testing and required the DOT to add
alcohol testing to its existing drug testing programs.

Supervisor Training DOT Requirements
• Length of Training
• FMCSA, PHMSA, FTA
• Must complete at least 2 hours of supervisor training—one hour on
signs and symptoms associated with drug use and one hour on signs and
symptom associated with alcohol misuse.
• FRA
• Supervisors of Hours of Service employees complete at least 3 hours of
training on drug and alcohol testing requirements, including reasonable
suspicion test determinations.
• FAA
• Must complete 2 hours of training, plus recurrent supervisor training at
intervals specified in the aviation employer's anti-drug and alcohol
misuse prevention plan.

• Drug Misuse
• The overall goal of RST is to protect public and workplace safety by ensuring
that employees whose behavior and appearance indicate possible illegal drug
use or alcohol misuse are removed from safety sensitive duties.
• Illegal use of controlled substances is prohibited: whether such use is on-
duty, off-duty, or at any time.
• Drug testing is a mechanism to determine if the employee has used a
prohibited drug; regardless of when, or what amount.
• The DOT rules require that determinations to conduct RST be based on
specific contemporaneous articulable observations of employee conduct,
behavior, appearance or body odors.

• Alcohol Misuse
• For RST, the observations of employee behavior, conduct, or appearance
must be made just before, during, or just after performing safety-sensitive
duties
• Once determine, the test should be conducted as soon as possible.
• Even if the reasonable suspicion test cannot be conducted, the employer
must remove from safety-sensitive duties any employee whose behavior or
appearance is indicative of being under the influence of or impaired by
alcohol or drugs.

Prohibited Drug Use (DOT)
• The DOT drug testing regulations require testing for five classes of drugs:
• Marijuana
• cocaine
• amphetamines (including amphetamine & methamphetamine)
• *opiates (including morphine, codeine & heroin)
• phencyclidine (PCP)
• These five classes of drugs represent the most frequently abused illegal
drugs. Most prescription drugs are not found in these classes of drugs.

Prohibited Drug Use (DOT)
• Performance of safety-sensitive duties is prohibited when an employee:
• has a breath alcohol concentration of .04 or greater
• consumes alcohol while on duty
• has consumed alcohol w/in 4hrs of reporting for duty (8hrs for flight crew members)
• possesses alcohol while on duty (applies to CDL positions only)
• refuses to take a required alcohol test
• required to undergo a post-accident alcohol test has consumed alcohol
before the post-accident test is conducted or w/in 8hrs after the accident,
whichever occurs first
• Additionally, any employee whose alcohol test result is 0.02-0.039 BrAc
must be removed from duty as follows:
• FMCSA – for at least 24 hours
• FRA – for at least 8 hours
• FTA, FAA and PHMSA – until alcohol concentration is < 0.020 or for at least 8
hours.

Best Criteria for Determination
• Reasonable suspicion testing determinations must be based on the
supervisor's specific contemporaneous articulable observations of an
employee's behavior, appearance, speech or body odors associated with
alcohol or controlled substance use.
• Contemporaneous = that the behavior, appearance or body odor exists now;
when the supervisor is making the observation.
• Articulable = that the observations are specific, grounded in objective
criteria, and capable of being documented by verbal or written expression.

Best Criteria for Determination

Getting Help from Employees
• Workplace signs of chemical dependency and substance abuse include:
• chronic lateness
• excessive absences
• decreased productivity
• poor performance levels
• problem interactions with others
• Time & attendance problems & changes in performance and productivity
levels cannot trigger a reasonable suspicion test, but should lead to
referral to an Employee Assistance Program
• Employees must be provided information about EAP and other resources
for getting help with substance abuse problems
• EAP/SAP referral procedures, payment issues, and personnel actions are
determined by company policy

What company policy should address
(Drugs and Alcohol)
• Identify drug-testing objectives (why, how, whom, and when to test)
• Update your company drug testing policy to reflect objectives
• The testing procedure section must now reflect reasonable suspicion testing
• Should explain how tests will be conducted
• Explain how results will be reported
• Train supervisors the purpose of RST, what to look for, what to document, and
how to interact with employees in these situations
• Announce the program to all employees

Managers need to know more than RST
• Testing Method Techniques

Managers need to know more than RST
• Testing Panels – basically any drug can be tested for from the common 5
panel of drugs to 10 or 11 panel of drugs *(training should cover each
drug being tested for – note in “script”)
• Amphetamine/methamphetamine/ecstasy
• Barbiturates
• Benzodiazepines
• Cannabinoid (THC/Marijuana)
• Cocaine
• Opiates (codeine, morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, heroin)
• Phencyclidine (PCP)
• Propoxyphene
• Fentanyl
• Ethyl Alcohol
• Talk with your employees - We do RST – your managers are getting this
training

Workplace Scenarios
When you dash into the men's room, you notice that someone is
in one of the stalls. The individual mutters some curses under his
breath, and then a small plastic baggie with white powder falls on
the floor.
1. What action would you take?
2. What other information or observations do you need to make a decision
about reasonable suspicion testing?
3. What is your company policy concerning investigation of suspected
possession of controlled substances?

Questions?
Lukas Shaw
lukass@cleanfleet.org
www.CleanFleet.org
503-479-6082

Reasonable Suspicion Training
Did you know that Americans consume 60% of the world’s production
of illegal drugs or that 10-20% of the nation's workers who die at work
also test positive for drugs or alcohol?
When was the last time your managers
of CDL drivers gone through RST?
This class is REQUIRED for DOT and highly valuable for companies
not Federally regulated
Online or Live Webinar Training!
LEARN MORE
http://cleanfleet.org/workforce-reasonable-suspicion-training/

Oral Testing OPEN HOUSE
Wednesday June 14th
- Join us in person in Portland, OR or register for one of the live online webinar options! -
http://cleanfleet.org/2017/05/oral-testing-open-house-2017/
Open Q&A (10:00am – 10:30am)
Morning Session (10:30am – 11:30am) – webinar
•Basics of Oral Testing and its Advantages
•Oral Testing Collection Process
•Current and Future State and Federal (DOT) Laws
with Oral Testing
•Best Practices when Implementing Oral Testing
Open Q&A (11:30am – 12:30pm)
Lunch Session (12:30pm – 1:30pm) – webinar
•Basics of Oral Testing and its Advantages
•Oral Testing Collection Process
•Current and Future State and Federal (DOT) Laws
with Oral Testing
•Best Practices when Implementing
Oral TestingOpen Q&A (1:30pm – 2:00pm)

Upcoming Webinars
June 22nd, 2017: DOT Medical Reviews – The Process, Disqualifications,
Red Flags, and What to do After Obtaining a Med Card
Register Today!
http://cleanfleet.org/monthly-webinar/

Thank You!

Reasonable Suspicion Training: Why It's Important for Workplace Safety

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