Section 1
An employee who voluntarily identifies himself or herself as someone who uses illegal drugs or misuses alcohol, prior to being identified through other means, shall not be identified to the Agency on the first occurrence of such self-referral, for the purposes of taking disciplinary action.
Section 2
When initiated by the employee, the related Treatment/Rehabilitation Plan (TRP) shall be identified as a Self-Referral TRP .
Section 3
An employee may self-refer except under the following circumstances:
a. the employee has received specific notice that he/she is to be tested for drugs or alcohol;
b. a substance abuse collector has arrived at the employee's facility to conduct testing;
c. the Agency is awaiting the results of a drug test taken by the employee; or
d. the employee has previously completed an Agency-approved rehabilitation program in accordance with DOT Order 3910.1.
Section 4
An employee who voluntarily self-refers under this Article shall not be subject to disciplinary action based only on substance abuse, if the employee:
a. obtains counseling through the Agency's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and completes EAP recommended rehabilitation; and
b. refrains from any further use of illegal drugs or alcohol misuse in accordance with the policy of DOT Order 3910.1.
Section 5
The Flight Surgeon shall contact the employee's facility manager and notify him/her that the employee will be temporarily removed from his/her safety-sensitive duties for medical reasons. The nature of the medical problem shall not be released.
Section 6
An employee who uses sick leave in connection with rehabilitation under this Article shall not be required to provide a medical certificate under Article 25.
Section 7
When the employee has sufficiently recovered, he/she will be scheduled for return-to-duty substance testing. Upon passing the return-to- duty test, the employee's facility manager shall be informed that the employee is no longer restricted for medical reasons and may return to his/her normal duties. If the employee does not pass the return-to-duty test, the employee's manager will be informed and the employee will be offered an opportunity to enter into a TRP.
Section 8
All follow-up testing shall be conducted in a manner that will protect the privacy of the employee and, whenever feasible, be conducted off the facility grounds.
Section 9
Employees follow-up testing shall begin after a negative return- to-duty test and shall continue for one (1) year from the initial follow-up test or ten (10) days after the date of the negative return-to-duty test, whichever comes first. The follow-up program may be extended at the discretion of the Flight Surgeon when follow-up testing is incomplete or interrupted. The employee will have successfully completed the rehabilitation program, if the employee adheres to his/her TRP, and all of the employee’s follow-up test results are negative.