Voluntary Self-Referral. An employee who has a legal drug and/or alcohol abuse problem can voluntarily refer him/herself to a Licensed Substance Abuse Counselor for treatment. The Counselor will evaluate the employee and make a specific determination of appropriate treatment. Voluntary self-referral does not relieve the employee of the obligation to submit to drug/alcohol testing as may be required by management pursuant to this policy.
Voluntary Self-Referral. An employee who voluntarily (not in response to a Company request to take a drug or alcohol test or the positive result of a drug or alcohol test) admits to management that he or she has a substance abuse or alcohol problem, and who wishes to voluntarily submit to a Rehabilitation Program, shall be placed on unpaid medical leave. Any voluntary requests for treatment must be made prior to any pending drug/alcohol test or disciplinary related action. An appropriate leave of absence may be granted for treatment and rehabilitation. The employee may be permitted to take accrued sick leave or administrative leave to participate in the Substance Abuse Counselor prescribed treatment program. If the employee has insufficient accrued leave, the employee shall be placed on leave without pay until the Substance Abuse Counselor has determined that the employee has successfully completed the required treatment program and releases him/her to return to a safety sensitive duties. Any leave taken, either paid or unpaid, shall be considered leave taken under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Payment for treatment will be coordinated through the employee’s health insurance provider. Employees who do not have health insurance coverage are responsible for the entire cost of any recommended treatment or rehabilitation services. The employee must present evidence of having enrolled in and successfully completed, at his or her own expense, a rehabilitation program approved by FirstGroup America. The employee must submit to a non-DOT pre-employment drug and alcohol test, at his or her own expense, which produces a negative result. The employee must sign FirstGroup America’s Post-Rehabilitation Return to Work Agreement. If a test result is canceled by the lab, the individual will be required to undergo another test and successfully pass the test with a verified negative result before performing safety- sensitive duties. An employee placed on unpaid leave as provided in this section must satisfy the provisions of the items above not later than 12 weeks from the commencement of this leave. An employee failing to do so shall be deemed to have abandoned his or her job. Any employee who is returned to work as provided in this section of the policy and who fails to comply with any of the terms of the Post – Rehabilitation Return to Work Agreement will be discharged. Employees will not be disciplined for requesting treatment, but will be expected to observe job performance standards and w...
