Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2008_SESSIONS/RS/BILLS/SB657%20SUB1.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 15:26:20+00:00

Document:
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §21-1D-1, §21-1D-2, §21-1D-3, §21-1D-4, §21-1D-5, §21-1D-6, §21-1D-7, §21-1D-8 and §21-1D-9, all relating to the West Virginia Alcohol and Drug-Free Workplace Act; providing definitions; providing a statement of policy; requiring public improvement contractors to have and implement a drug-free workplace program that requires drug and alcohol testing; requiring a drug-free workplace policy to be posted at a public improvement construction site; requiring drug-free workplace records and contents be open for inspection; providing penalties; and providing that this article shall only apply to contracts awarded after this article takes effect.
This article shall be called the West Virginia Alcohol and Drug-Free Workplace Act.
(a) The term "alcohol test" means a procedure conducted to determine if an individual is under the influence of alcohol.
(b) The term "construction", as used in this article, means any construction, reconstruction, improvement, enlargement, painting, decorating or repair of any public improvement let to contract. The term "construction" does not include temporary or emergency repairs.
(c) The term "contractor" means any employer working on a public improvement without regard to whether they are serving as the prime or subcontractor to another.
(d) The term "drug test" means a procedure using a nine-panel drug screen in urine specimens that are collected from individuals for the purpose of scientifically analyzing the specimens to determine if the individual ingested, was injected or otherwise exposed to a drug of abuse.
(e) The term "drug of abuse" means any substance listed under subsection (h) of this section.
(f) The term "employee" means a laborer, mechanic or other worker. For the purposes of this article, employee does not include such persons as are employed or hired directly by a public authority on a regular or temporary basis engaged exclusively in making temporary or emergency repairs. Furthermore, employee does not include such persons employed by a contractor who does not work in public improvement construction.
(g) The term "medical review officer" means a physician who holds a certificate authorizing them to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery, has knowledge of substance abuse disorders, has the appropriate medical training to interpret and evaluate positive drug and alcohol test results together with a person's medical history and other relevant biomedical information, has successfully completed qualification training as outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations at 49 C. F. R. Part 40 §121 (c) and has passed an exam administered by a nationally recognized medical review officer certification board or subspecialty board for medical practitioners in the field of medical review of federally mandated drug testing.
(h) The term "nine-panel drug screen" means a drug-testing program that tests for marijuana, cocaine, opiates including hydromorphone, oxycodone, hydrocodone, phencyclidine, amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, methadone and propoxyphene at the substance screening and confirmation limits where provided under federally mandated drug and alcohol testing programs or otherwise accepted as the industry standard.
(i) The term "public authority", as used in this article, means any officer, board or commission or other agency of the State of West Virginia authorized by law to enter into a contract for the construction of a public improvement, including any institution supported, in whole or in part, by public funds of the State of West Virginia and this article applies to expenditures of these institutions made, in whole or in part, from public funds.
(j) The term "public improvement", as used in this article, includes all buildings, roads, highways, bridges, streets, alleys, sewers, ditches, sewage disposal plants, waterworks, airports and all other structures upon which construction may be let to contract by the State of West Virginia.
(k) The term "random drug testing" means a procedure in which employees who perform safety-sensitive tasks are selected to undergo a drug test by a statistically valid random selection method without prearrangement or planning.
(l) The term "reasonable cause" means a belief based on facts and inferences based primarily upon, but not limited to: (1) Observable phenomena, such as direct observation of use, possession or distribution of alcohol or a controlled substance, or of the physical symptoms of being under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, such as, but not limited to, slurred speech, dilated pupils, odor of an alcoholic beverage or a controlled substance, changes in affect or dynamic mood swings; (2) a pattern of abnormal conduct, erratic or aberrant behavior or deteriorating work performance such as frequent absenteeism, excessive tardiness or recurrent accidents, that appears to be related to the use of alcohol or a controlled substance and does not appear to be attributable to other factors; (3) the identification of an employee as the focus of a criminal investigation into unauthorized possession, use or trafficking of a controlled substance; (4) a report of use of alcohol or a controlled substance provided by a reliable and credible source; and (5) repeated or flagrant violations of the safety or work rules of the employee's employer, that are determined by the employee's supervisor to pose a substantial risk of physical injury or property damage and that appears to be related to the use of alcohol or a controlled substance and that does not appear attributable to other factors.
(m) The term "safety-sensitive duty" means any task or duty fraught with such risks of injury to the employee or others that even a momentary lapse of attention or judgment, or both, can lead to serious bodily harm or death.
(n) The term "under the influence of alcohol" means a concentration of eight hundredths of one percent or more by weight of alcohol in an individual's blood or a concentration of eight hundredths of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of an individual's breath.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State of West Virginia to require public improvement contractors to have and implement a drug-free workplace policy that requires drug and alcohol testing.
§21-1D-4. Drug-free workplace policy required for public improvement construction.
(C) Provides to the public authority false information regarding the contractor's drug-free workplace policy.
§21-1D-5. Employee drug-free workplace policy required to bid for a public improvement contract.
After the first day of July, two thousand eight, any solicitation for a public improvement contract shall require each contractor that submits a bid for the work to submit at the same time an affidavit that the contractor has a written plan for a drug-free workplace policy. A public improvement contract may not be awarded to a contractor who does not have a written plan for a drug-free workplace policy.
For subcontractors, compliance with this section may take place before their work on the public improvement is begun.
(C) Conduct a drug test or alcohol test of any employee who may have caused or contributed to an accident while conducting job duties where reasonable cause exists to suspect that the employee may be intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance not prescribed by the employee's physician when, but not limited to, the employer has evidence that an employee is or was using alcohol or a controlled substance drawn from specific documented, objective facts and reasonable inferences drawn from these facts in light of experience and training.
The drug or alcohol test shall be conducted as soon as possible after the accident occurred and after any necessary medical attention has been administered to the employee.
(D) Conduct a drug test or alcohol test of any employee when a trained supervisor has reasonable cause to believe that the employee has reported to work or is working under the influence of a drug of abuse or alcohol. Written documentation as to the nature of a supervisor's reasonable cause shall be created prior to the release of the test findings.
In order to ascertain and justify implementation of a reasonable cause test, all supervisors will be trained to recognize drug and alcohol related signs and symptoms.
(E) The testing of a urine specimen of an individual to determine if the individual ingested, was injected or otherwise introduced with a drug of abuse in a manner that conforms to scientifically accepted analytical methods and procedures that may include verification or confirmation of any positive test result by gas chromatography or mass spectrometry.
(D) A list of community resources where employees may seek assistance for themselves or their families.
(H) How to handle drug-free workplace responsibilities in a manner that is consistent with the applicable sections of any pertinent collective bargaining agreements.
§21-1D-6. Drug-free workplace written policy to be kept posted.
A clearly legible copy of the contractor's written drug-free workplace policy shall be kept posted in a prominent and easily accessible place at the public improvement construction site thereof by each contractor subject to the provisions of this article.
§21-1D-7. Drug-free workplace records and contents open for inspection.
Every contractor shall keep an accurate record showing the names, occupation and safety-sensitive status of all employees, in connection with the construction on the public improvement, and showing any drug tests or alcohol tests performed and employee education and supervisor training received, which record shall be open at all reasonable hours to the inspection of and the public authority which let the contract and its officers and agents. It is not necessary to preserve the record for a period longer than three years after the termination of the contract.
§21-1D-8. Penalties for violation of this article.
(a) Any contractor who violates any provision of this article is, for the first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars; for the second offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars; for the third or any subsequent offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five thousand dollars nor more than twenty-five thousand dollars and the contractor shall be excluded from bidding any additional new public improvement projects for a period of one year.
(b) Any person who directly or indirectly aids, requests or authorizes any other person to violate any of the provisions of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hundred fifty dollars.
This article applies only to contracts for construction on public improvements awarded after the effective date of this article.
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the West Virginia Alcohol and Drug-Free Workplace Act, to require public improvement contractors to have and implement a drug-free workplace program that requires drug and alcohol testing be conducted by a contractor.

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