SUBJECT: JOINT COMPANY-UNION ALCOHOL AND
DRUG DEPENDENCY PROGRAM
The Company and the
A. The
following are basic essentials for an effective alcohol and drug dependency
program:
1. Participation
in the Program by an individual employee must be voluntary and will be kept
confidential to preserve the employee's privacy.
2. Effectiveness
of the Program is directly dependent upon the degree to which the employee
affirmatively seeks such voluntary participation.
3. The
Program is by its nature a progressive undertaking, and failure of an employee
to participate in an earlier stage may eliminate the employee from subsequent
stages.
4. The
Company's right to discipline an employee for unsatisfactory performance or
attendance is not diminished or modified in any way by the fact that the
employee may have an alcohol or drug problem.
However, while discipline for other Company Rule violations shall not be
affected by this Program, disciplinary action for unsatisfactory performance or
attendance may be held in abeyance during the employee's cooperative
participation in the Program, provided no further performance or attendance
problems occur.
B. The
Program is divided into the following stages:
1. Identification.
2. Evaluation.
3. Treatment.
4. Return
to work.
C. Identification.
1. Identification
of an employee as having an alcohol or drug problem which interferes with job
performance or attendance can occur in several ways:
a. The
individual employee acknowledges the problem and so advises a Company or Union
representative.
b. Company
management or Union representatives become aware of the employee's performance
or attendance problems and have some reason to believe the problems are alcohol
or drug related.
2. At
this stage, a brief counseling session attended by the employee, his/her
supervisor and, if agreeable to the employee, his/her personnel representative
and Union representative, should be arranged and the following items
covered: (If the employee so desires, a separate,
private counseling session with his/her Union representative can be utilized as
an alternative to the Union representative's participation in the supervisor's
counseling session with the employee.)
a. The
Program shall be clearly explained to the employee.
b. The
facts that participation is purely voluntary and will be kept confidential
should be emphasized.
c. It
should be stressed that the extent of the employee's alcohol or drug problem,
if any, has not yet been determined.
d. The
employee should be advised that normal disciplinary action appropriate for
his/her job performance or attendance problems may be held in abeyance so long
as he/she cooperatively participates in the Program, provided no further
performance or attendance problems occur.
e. The
session will conclude by advising the employee that, if agreeable, an
appointment will be arranged with the Company Medical Department Employee
Assistance Program for a medical professional evaluation of the problem.
D. Evaluation.
1. Because
alcohol and drug problems vary considerably (their causes are innumerable, they
may be temporary or of long duration, they may be acute or chronic, they may or
may not involve serious physical deterioration), it is imperative that the
scope of the employee's problem must be medically evaluated at the outset.
2. At
the appointment with the Company Medical Department Employee Assistance Program,
the employee will be advised that:
a. Evaluation
of his/her alcohol or drug problem can be conducted by his/her selection of one
of the following:
(i) Company Medical
Department.
(ii) Any one
of a list of outside community resource organizations mutually agreed upon by
the Company and the Union.
(iii) His/her
personal selection of a medical expert in the field who is satisfactory to the
Company and the Union.
b a. The results of the evaluation will become part
of the employee's Company medical record be retained
by the Employee Assistance Program and by any outside medical evaluator,
and will be provided to the employee and, if agreeable to him/her, to the Union.
c b. If the evaluation concludes that the
employee does not have a significant alcohol or drug problem requiring further
treatment, no further participation in the Program is required.
d c. If the evaluation concludes that the
employee has an alcohol or drug problem requiring treatment, such treatment by
an outside organization or medical expert from a list agreed upon by the
Company and the Medical
Department Employee Assistance Program.
ed. The employee's participation in such treatment
is voluntary. However, if the employee
refuses such treatment, or fails to cooperate in its successful completion, any
disciplinary action for his/her job performance or attendance problems which
has been held in abeyance may be taken.
E. Treatment.
1. When
the Evaluation Report indicates that treatment is necessary and the employee
agrees in writing to participate, the Company's Medical Department Employee
Assistance Program will:
a. Aarrange with the
employee and the selected treatment agency a schedule for treatment; and
b2. If necessary for treatment, the employee will
arrange with
the employee's Company organization for a medical
leave of absence via Total Access under Subparagraph 15.1(a)(1)
for the period of the treatment.
23. If the employee continues to work during
treatment, he/she will be subject to normal rules of conduct and performance.
F. Return
to Work.
1. If
a leave of absence is required for the treatment of the employee's alcohol or
drug related condition, the employee's return to work must be approved by the
Company Medical
Department Employee Assistance Program.
2. Such
approval will depend, in large measure but not exclusively, on the
recommendation of the outside treatment agency or expert as to the employee's successful
completion of the treatment.
3. An
employee's failure to successfully complete the recommended course of treatment
may result in termination of employment unless, in the opinion of the Company Medical
Department Employee Assistance Program, the employee
is able to return to work.
G. Costs
incurred by the employee for medical evaluation and treatment will be
reimbursed under the Company's Group Insurance Program subject to the
requirements and limitations of that Program.
H. The
Company and the
Dated: September 29, 2005 4, 2008
By:___________________________ By:________________________
Date: _________________________ Date:______________________