Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 13 - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT › Part V - Office of the Secretary › Chapter 1 - Substance Abuse and Drug-Free Workplace Program › Section V-109 - Drug Testing Procedures

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A.
				Drug testing pursuant to these rules shall be for the presence of marijuana,
				opiates, cocaine, amphetamine/ methamphetamine and phencyclidine (PCP) in
				accordance with
				R.S.
				49:1001 et seq. Testing shall be performed by
				a contractor chosen by the Office of State Purchasing, Division of
				Administration. At a minimum, the testing procedure shall assure:
1. that all specimens for drug testing are
				collected, stored, transported and tested in compliance with United States
				Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) guidelines (and applicable
				federal and state regulations) to ensure integrity of the testing
				process;
2. urine specimens will be
				collected with emphasis upon the privacy rights of the employee. Direct
				observation of the employee during collection of the urine specimen will be
				allowed only under the following conditions:
a. when there is specific, articulable reason
				to believe that the individual may alter or substitute the specimen;
b. when the individual has provided a urine
				specimen which falls outside the acceptable temperature range;
c. when the last urine specimen provided by
				the individual was verified by the medical review officer as adulterated;
				or
d. when collection site
				personnel observe conduct or behavior indicating an attempt to
				substitute/adulterate the sample or otherwise alter the integrity of the
				collection process;
Note: In all instances in which direct observation is deemed
				  appropriate, the designated DED representative shall review and concur, in
				  advance, with any decision by collection site personnel to obtain a specimen
				  under direct observation. This representative shall maintain, in a confidential
				  record, the full name of the reporting collection site personnel and the
				  specific facts relied upon to approve the direct observation. The record shall
				  be signed by the department representative. All direct observations shall be
				  conducted by same gender collection site personnel.
3. the split sample collection
				methodology must be used in accordance with
				R.S.
				49:1006.D, with both the primary and split
				specimens properly stored and transported to the testing laboratory. The
				primary urine sample will be analyzed for the presence of marijuana, opiates,
				amphetamines/methamphetamine, cocaine and phencyclidine (PCP);
4. appropriate chain of custody forms shall
				be utilized to ensure the integrity of each urine specimen by tracking its
				handling, storage and transportation from point of collection to final
				disposition;
5. testing shall be
				performed by laboratories certified for forensic urine drug testing by the U.S.
				Department of Health and Human Services and in strict compliance with DHHS
				guidelines;
6. the dual testing
				procedure shall be used for all samples. Each primary sample that tests
				positive for a prohibited substance shall be subject to an additional, more
				precise confirmatory test (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry);
7. all positive test results (those which
				exceed federally established cut-off levels as set forth in  49 CFR 40, Section
				40.29), shall first be reported by the testing laboratory to DED's qualified
				Medical Review Officer (MRO). The MRO is a licensed physician knowledgeable of
				substance abuse who has received specialized training in interpreting and
				evaluating test results in conjunction with an individual's medical history and
				other relevant biomedical information. The MRO will review the collection
				procedure, chain of custody and testing methodology before contacting the
				employee/appointee/applicant to rule out the possibility of error or that
				medications, medical history or any other condition caused the positive test
				result;
8. if the test is confirmed
				to be positive by the MRO, the employee may, within 72 hours of notification
				from the MRO, request, in writing, directly to the MRO, that the split specimen
				(initially collected but separated and stored during the collection process) be
				tested in a different DHHS certified laboratory. This split sample testing
				shall be allowed if timely requested and performed at the employee's
				expense;
9. once a positive test is
				confirmed and reported to DED by the MRO, an employee in a safety-sensitive
				position will be prohibited from performing safety-sensitive functions. A
				request for testing of the split sample will not delay any such employee's
				removal from performing safety-sensitive functions; and
10. if testing of the split specimen results
				in a negative result, the MRO will cancel the positive result of the initial
				test. All doubts shall be resolved in favor of the employee.