C. Berkeley Campus Drug and Alcohol Testing Information Summary

The University of California, Berkeley
Drug and Alcohol Testing Information Summary

1. Policy

The University of California, Berkeley is committed to providing a workplace environment that promotes health and safety. As required by law, the University enforces the Department of Transportation (DOT) anti-drug policy and regulations. Employees are encouraged to voluntarily utilize services of the University's Employee Assistance Program to deal with any alcohol/drug use or dependency before it affects on-the-job performance.

The campus' policies and procedures to implement the Department of Transportation (DOT) drug and alcohol testing program have been balanced with a recognition of employee's legal rights, the preservation of employees' reasonable expectation of privacy, and a commitment to assuring due process.

In addition, the University of California Policy on Substance Abuse is disseminated annually to all staff, faculty, and students. 

2. Applicability

The DOT rule covers employees and contract labor personnel whose UC Berkeley duties are such that federal regulations require them to hold a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) in order to drive a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) on public highways, and who, during the course of the workday, operate or are expected to be in readiness to operate:

  • a vehicle with gross combination or gross vehicle weight of at least 26,000 pounds inclusive of a towed unit with a gross vehicle rating of more than 10,000 pounds;
  • a vehicle originally designed or currently designed to transport 16 or more passengers including the driver; or
  • a vehicle of any size used to transport hazardous materials found in the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, and which require the motor vehicle to be placarded under the Hazardous Materials Regulations.

In addition to being subject to testing any time while at work for the use of illegal drugs, such individuals are subject to alcohol testing during those periods of time when they are currently performing, have recently performed, are about to perform, or are required to be in readiness to perform and immediately available to perform any of the following on-duty-safety sensitive duties as described in the DOT federal regulations, including: 

  1. at a carrier's facility or any public property waiting to be dispatched,
  2. inspecting, servicing, or conditioning a CMV,
  3. driving a CMV,
  4. all of the time in or upon CMV except in a sleeper berth,
  5. performing, supervising, assisting, or attending CMV loading or unloading, including processing paperwork,
  6. performing post-accident duties, and
  7. repairing, obtaining assistance, or attending a disabled CMV.

It is UC Berkeley's policy that all drivers are considered to be immediately available to perform one or more of the above on-duty functions (a) through (g) and therefore are subject to random drug and alcohol testing, reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing, and follow-up drug and alcohol testing during all working hours unless explicitly excused from all DOT on-duty functions.

Regardless of job classification, an employee or contractor may not drive a University CMV unless that individual's name appears on the current University CDL-holder's list maintained by the Parking and Transportation Services Department indicating that the driver is subject to the random testing provisions of the DOT rule. 

3. Mandatory Inquiry

Applicants for employment at UC Berkeley involving the operation of a CMV are required to identify all employers for the previous 10 years during which the applicant has driven a CMV. From this list of past employers, the hiring department will contact employers for the preceding two years. If any prior employer reports that the applicant had an alcohol test with a concentration of 0.04 or greater, a verified positive controlled substances test result, or a refusal to be tested during this period of time, the application will not be processed further until the applicant submits a specific, written authorization to release this information to the department for review. Upon receipt of these records, the hiring department will forward them to the designated UC Berkeley substance abuse professional for review. The purpose of this review is to verify that the applicant has not attempted to evade any required treatment and that other reinstatement requirements have been satisfied before the time the applicant sought employment at UC Berkeley.  

Review of Evaluation Records and Return-To-Duty Test Records

Specifically, records that are required to be kept by previous employers will be requested in order to check three things:

  1. The department will verify that a determination was made by a substance abuse professional concerning the driver's need for assistance.
  2. The department will verify that the driver complied with all treatment recommendations of the substance abuse professional. If a follow-up testing program had been established, the current status of the applicant's completion of the program will be requested.
  3. The department will verify that the driver passed the required return-to-duty test before being allowed to perform any safety-sensitive functions. A pre-employment drug test may be used to satisfy return-to-duty drug test requirements. 

As described in Section 4 under Pre-employment Testing, UC Berkeley will not hire drivers who have not yet had their CDLs reinstated. Therefore, drivers who have violated DOT drug and/or alcohol prohibitions at UC Berkeley or elsewhere will not be hired if they have not satisfactorily completed all reinstatement DOT requirements (including any required rehabilitation, medical recertification to drive, and return-to-duty testing). 

4. Testing for Substance Abuse

Testing for substance abuse is required by UC Berkeley DOT in six situations: pre-employment, post-accident, random selection, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty, and follow-up after reinstatement to safety-sensitive functions following removal for violating a drug/alcohol prohibition. Each of these situations is discussed below:

  1. It is UC Berkeley's policy that applicants for CMV driver positions must pass a DOT pre-employment drug and alcohol test, which will be conducted after an offer is made but prior to being hired for, or transferred to, the position.

The requirement for DOT pre-employment testing applies to new hires, existing employees transferring into CMV driver positions, and non-campus employee drivers who are used by the campus as CMV drivers. The final results of the tests must be in the department's possession prior to awarding the position to the applicant or transfer candidate. Therefore, sufficient time should be allowed for pre-employment testing. Drug test results are typically verified by the Medical Review Officer (MRO) within 5 working days but may take a week or longer in some cases. 

To facilitate the use of casual, intermittent, or occasional drivers (such as trip-lease drivers and other non-campus employee drivers) the requirement for pre-employment testing may be waived if the driver has participated in a DOT drug and alcohol testing program elsewhere and the driver releases to the designated manager the following records to allow for verification of participation in that program. 

Waiver of Pre-employment Drug Test

The pre-employment drug test may be waived if:

  • information is provided indicating the individual has participated in a DOT drug testing program within the previous 30 days as provided;
  • information reveals either that the individual was drug-tested by that program within the past 6 months or was not tested but was subject to random drug testing for the previous 12 months; and
  • information reveals that no prior employer has records showing the applicant engaged in prohibited drug or alcohol conduct within the previous 6 months. 

Applicants for driver positions will be required to state whether they have failed an alcohol test (at 0.04 or greater), or a drug test, have refused to be tested, or have violated any other DOT drug or alcohol prohibition within the preceding two years. If such violation did occur, applicants are required to sign a written release of these records for review.

As described in Section 3, Mandatory Inquiry, it is UC Berkeley's policy that employment applicants for CMV driver positions who have previously violated DOT drug and/or alcohol prohibitions will not be hired until they are qualified to drive CMVs. That is, they must have satisfactorily completed all reinstatement and CMV driver qualification requirements.

After receipt of these records, an assessment will be made by a designated UC Berkeley substance abuse professional concerning the applicant's compliance with any required assistance or treatment. 

Post-Accident Testing

Two situations require drug and alcohol testing of each surviving driver of a CMV as soon as practicable after an accident:

  • The driver was performing safety-sensitive functions with respect to the vehicle and there was a loss of human life, or 
  • The driver was issued a citation for a moving traffic violation arising from the accident.

Drivers who are subject to post-accident testing are required to remain readily available for testing for the next 8 hours for an alcohol test and for the next 32 hours for a drug test unless tested or excused from testing. Except in medical emergencies, failure of the driver to remain available for drug and/or an alcohol testing will be considered as refusal to submit to testing. Until tested for alcohol or excused from testing, the driver must abstain from consumption of alcohol for 8 hours following the accident.

Prior to being allowed to operate a CMV, drivers will be provided with the necessary information, and instructions by their departments or divisions regarding the procedures to follow regarding where and when to submit to post-accident testing. These procedures will enable the driver to comply with this requirement whether on UC Berkeley property, on the highway, or elsewhere.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Nothing in this document (or rule itself) should be construed as to require the delay of necessary medical attention for injured people following an accident or to prevent a driver from leaving the scene of an accident for the period necessary to obtain assistance in responding to an accident, or to obtain necessary emergency medical care.

Random Testing 

The UC Berkeley DOT random section pool is composed of drivers who are regularly employed, as well as intermittent, casual, and occasional drivers who are employed elsewhere but used by UC Berkeley more than once a year.

Individuals in the pool may be randomly selected for drug testing only or may be randomly selected for both drug and alcohol testing. When an individual is randomly selected for both drug and alcohol testing, these tests will be administered during a single visit to the collection facility to minimize the number of work disruptions.

Drivers will be selected for testing through the use of a computer-based random number generator. All drivers will have an equal chance of being selected on each testing day. The dates for administering these tests will be reasonably spread throughout the year but will not be predictable. Random testing may occur on any work shift on any workday throughout the year. Persons who are tested will be immediately available for re-selection on the next day. Drivers notified of selection for testing must proceed immediately to the designated testing site. The time allowed between notification and testing is no more than the requisite travel time to the testing site. A reasonable amount of transportation time will be allowed. If a driver is notified of their selection while performing a safety-sensitive function, they are required to cease performing the function as soon as it can be safely terminated and proceed to the testing site as soon as possible. 

It is UC Berkeley's policy that all drivers are considered to be immediately available to perform one or more of the on-duty functions listed in section 2, items (a) through (g), and therefore are subject to random drug and alcohol testing while working.

A driver may be notified of selection for random alcohol testing;

  • While the driver is performing safety-sensitive functions;
  • just before the driver is to perform or is expected to be in readiness to perform safety-sensitive functions; or
  • just after the driver has ceased performing safety-sensitive functions.

Random Testing Rate 

Initially, the minimum number of random alcohol tests required by DOT to be conducted annually by the industry will be equal to 25 percent of the average number of drivers actually employed by each motor carrier throughout the year. The minimum number of random drug tests will be equal to 50 percent of the average number of employed drivers. However, the DOT may adjust the required minimum rate for alcohol testing either up or down based on the violation rate experienced by the nation's federal highway transportation employers.

Violation Rate for alcohol testing means the number of covered drivers who had an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater plus the number of drivers who refused a required random alcohol test, divided by the total reported number of employees in the federal highway transportation industry who were given required random alcohol tests plus the total reported number of employees in the industry who refused a required random alcohol test. 

The alcohol testing rate will be increased to the maximum if the violation rate is poor for 1 year.

The alcohol testing rate may be decreased to the next lower level if the violation rate is good for 2 years.

  • If the alcohol violation rate in a given calendar year is 1% or greater, the annual rate required will be increased from its existing rate to 50%.
  • If the alcohol violation rate is less than 0.5% for 2 consecutive years, the random testing rate may be lowered from 25% to 10%.
  • If the alcohol violation rate is 0.5% or greater but less than 1% for 2 consecutive years, the random testing rate may be lowered from 50% to 25%. 

Reasonable Suspicion Testing

Drivers are required to submit to drug and/or alcohol testing upon request if supervision or management has reason to believe the driver has violated any of the drug and/or alcohol prohibitions except for suspected possession of alcohol. A reasonable suspicion drug and/or alcohol test will be administered if one or more supervisors or other management officials, who have been trained in behavioral observation, makes a specific, articulable observation concerning a driver's appearance, behavior, speech, or body odor. In the case of suspected drug use, the observations may include indications of the chronic or withdrawal effects of controlled substances. An attempt will be made to obtain corroboration from a second management official. However, failure to obtain the corroboration of a second management official will not prevent the conduct of a reasonable suspicion DOT test. When testing is required, supervision or management will make necessary arrangements for the testing and the required contact with Employee/Labor Relations, as described in DOT supervisory training. To accommodate special circumstances, supervisors are provided instructions during DOT supervisory training on how to arrange the conduct of drug and alcohol tests off-site and on weekends and holidays. 

If, for any reason, an alcohol test cannot be conducted within two hours following the determination that reasonable suspicion exists to require testing, a written explanation of the reason for the delay is required to be placed on file by supervision or management. A copy will be sent to the Manager of Transit and Charter Services. A reasonable suspicion alcohol test will not be administered after 8 hours following the determination and the reason why it was not administered will be documented and placed on file. A copy will be sent to the Manager of Transit and Charter Services.

A driver will be requested to undergo reasonable suspicion alcohol testing only:

While the driver is performing safety-sensitive functions;

  1. just before the driver is to perform or is expected to be in readiness to perform safety-sensitive functions; or 
  2. just after the driver has ceased performing safety-sensitive functions.

A written record will be made of the observation leading to a reasonable suspicion drug or alcohol test and signed by the supervisor or other trained company official who made the observations within 24 hours of the observed behavior or before the drug test result is released, whichever is earlier.

Reasonable Suspicion Removal Without an Alcohol Test
If a supervisor has reason to believe a driver has used alcohol, and a reasonable suspicion alcohol test is not administered, the driver will be prevented from performing or continuing to perform safety-sensitive functions until either an alcohol test is administered with a result of less than 0.02, or 24 hours have elapsed.

Return-To-Duty Testing
Before a driver returns to duty in a safety-sensitive function after engaging in prohibited conduct as listed in Section 6, they must undergo a return-to-duty drug and/or alcohol test as specified by a substance abuse professional. Return-to-duty alcohol test results must be below 0.02.

Follow-Up Testing 
Each driver who has been identified by a substance abuse professional as needing assistance in resolving a substance abuse problem and who has returned to duty requiring the performance of a safety-sensitive function will be subject to unannounced follow-up drug and/or alcohol testing. The number, frequency, and types of these follow-up tests will be as specified by the substance abuse professional. Follow-up tests will not involve advance notice to the individual. At least 6 tests will be conducted in the first 12 months after the driver is returned to duty. The substance abuse professional will monitor the test results to determine the duration of follow-up testing, which may be up to a maximum of 60 months.

Follow-Up Tests Will Be Conducted: 

  1. While the driver is performing safety-sensitive functions;
  2. just before the driver is to perform or is expected to be in readiness to perform safety-sensitive functions; or
  3. just after the driver has ceased performing safety-sensitive functions.

Further Information
Questions about the UC Berkeley DOT Drug and Alcohol Program, including who is required to be included in it, may be directed to your Employee Relations Consultant in Central Human Resources.