Commission Discusses Drug Testing Policy

County commission further discusses drug testing policy

Pamela Pritt
Editor
The county commission further fleshed out its potential drug testing policy for county employees Tuesday. The policy was first brought up by commissioner Martin Saffer, who also sits on the Pocahontas County Board of Health.
Saffer's draft policy was scrutinized by his fellow commissioners, James Carpenter and Reta Griffith, over the past two weeks. Both commissioners had questions and suggestions concerning the policy's intent and reach.
Griffith said she believed that employees impaired while on the job must not be taken home, as the draft suggested, but tested immediately.
"It's not our job to babysit them," she said.
Griffith also said she did not want to differentiate between employees who were considered public safety and those who are not since all county employees serve the public.
As rehabilitation is part and parcel of the policy, Carpenter said he wanted to know who paid for that restoration. Saffer said the employee would have to bear that cost.
But Griffith said that process will still cost the county in terms of lost time. Some court house offices would be more able to compensate for an employee's extended absence than would others, she said.
Most of the discussion centered on how to choose employees randomly.
Griffith said another agency she serves uses a "Bingo" method, meaning each employee is given a number and all numbers are placed in a container for drawing.
Any employee who tests positive is given the chance for rehabilitation, she said; however, that means the employee is then in another group which is tested randomly according to time. A second positive test in five years results in dismissal, she said.
Saffer said he welcomed the other commissioners' participation in working out the policy. He said his drug testing suggestion had met with some resistance among court house employees; however, he said when he explained the commission's position on taking a leadership role as opposed to trying to catch someone, the objections lessened.
In the end, commissioners took Griffith's advice and will engage Workforce West Virginia, which will tailor policies for employers at a cost of $300 and train supervisors at $50 each.
Commissioners will continue discussion of the policy at their next meeting.