Training Marbles Blog

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) has published another final rule which takes effect today, February 29, 2012

Here’s the quick summary;

1) Commercial Motor Vehicle (“CMV”) Drivers cannot, under any circumstances, use Schedule I drugs and be qualified to drive a CMV. This amends 391.41 to clarify that the exception that allows a CMV driver to use a substance or drug if it is prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner, applies only to non-Schedule I prescribed substances, amphetamines, narcotics, or other habit-forming drugs; and

Ryan Braun, Brewers left fielder’s statement that the Major League Baseball (MLB) drug testing program is “fatally flawed” is false. Since the impact goes beyond MLB to workplace collection it needs to be corrected. Braun’s urine sample tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. The arbitrator acquittal was for a “technical breach” of the collectively bargained rules was a delay in the delivery of the sample for 48 hours, not a breach of the sample itself.

In the world of drug testing a “fatal flaw” is a non-correctable procedural error that cannot be corrected and there the test is canceled from the lab. There are only a few procedural errors serious enough to be considered “fatal” flaws that cause a Federal drug or alcohol test including tampered specimen or broken seal, lack of custody. Collectors are trained professionals and disciplined for such errors. This is an important distinction because the specimen for Braun, was tested and no evidence of tempering or compromise existed. The three drug test collected were delayed in their delivery to FedEx, this is poor judgement on the collectors part but, it does not constitute a “fatal flaw”.

Employers should ensure that there is a process in place if their collection facility misses the specimen pick-up time to ensure storage, temperature and chain-of-custody remain intact.
I won’t debate or give my opinion regarding the results for Braun or

The Core of Knowledge Summer 2011 Evaluations (Week Two)
the Ohio State University Pfahl Hall
August 1st –August 19th, 2011

(Evaluation based on 8‐point scale, 8 being excellent)
Leader: Dyann McDowell
Topic: Drug‐Free Workplace
Leader Average: 7.9
Topic Average: 7.9

Comments:

• Awesome. Great information!
• Definitely use her again.
• Excellent. Kept me engaged. Learned a lot. Laughed a lot.
• Excellent speaker. Good info to know.
• Very engaging. Knew the topic. Confident, funny. I really liked her. Absolutely wonderful!
• Very interesting and worthwhile session. The leader was absolutely excellent and the topic was relevant.
• Excellent!
• Excellent speaker!
• Excellent presentation. Enlightening! Informative!
• Absolutely wonderful!
• Amazing speaker. Very useful information and important topic.
• Great!
• Dynamic speaker. Very knowledgeable. Great choice for end of the day—she kept us awake and engaged.
• Very good speaker and message. Nice to know what to look for and what we can and cannot do for an employee.
• Best speaker by far.
• Very well done!
• Great topic. Energetic! Enthusiastic! Bring her back!
• Amazing!!! She helped my migraine Sound advice. She told it like it is.
• Great speaker! Best yet!
• Great end of the day speaker. Very refreshing!
• Great! Very energetic. Great job of going over detail. REALLY ENJOYED THIS SESSION
• Great info and presenter.Great course! Well done! Great speaker!
• Great and charismatic speaker. Made it fun. Was a great mix of teaching and sharing examples.
• Energetic leader. Very well done.
• Great topic and great speaker.
• Learned quite a bit regarding testing employees for drugs and alcohol. Speaker was great to listen to. Wish this
  session was longer.
• She was straight to the point and very humorous. Definitely my favorite session thus far.
• Excellent speaker. Held our attention.
• Very good! Dyann is entertaining and knows her stuff!
• Wonderful, wonderful presentation and information. Would definitely keep this on the agenda moving forward.

Many school in Ohio are not conducting the required training as mandated by the DOT/FMSCA guidelines. Employee Education is a one time 60 minute requirement that is designed to educate drivers about the Drug-Free requirement, and Sign and Symptoms of Drug and Alcohol use. Supervisor training is also a one time requirement focused on Reasonable Suspicion guideline,inititating the test and dealing with drugs and alcohol in the workplace. Please call TMI if you need help meeting the guidelines and/or conducting the training.

Medical Marijuana is now legal as a prescription in 17 states and many more, including Ohio are considering it. But what if your company has a drug-free-workplace policy?

OSHA’s General Duty Clause states that all employers must provide a safe work environment to employees. So if it can be shown that an employee’s impairment is a danger to himself or other workers, a company can suspend or fire the worker based on the guidelines of the written policy.

On top of that, the federal Department of Transportation issued new guidelines which prohibits the use of medical marijuana for transportation workers in safety-sensitive jobs, including pilots, school bus drivers, truck drivers, subway operators, ship captains and transit security workers who are armed.
It appears that recent court ruling favor safety and written drug-free policies prohibiting drug use. A well written policy, training, is the best safeguard to safeguarding the workplace against the negative impact. As courts rule on worker lawsuits against companies over the issue of medical marijuana, employers will receive more guidance. A few cases to review; Casias v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc; and Roe v. TeleTech Customer Care Management, Supreme Court of the State of Washington

My routine Mammogram found a tumor which sent us ANXIOUSLY for multiple test, to the oncologist, and for a biopsy… to determine what it was and what was next. THANKFULLY today we got the Pathology report which determined it is a BENIGN TUMOR (Thank you Jesus!!!).

I share this with you for two reason 1) Race for the Cure – please donate so, that if and when the call comes the CURE has been found or the cure rate has reached 99%, and 2) If you are 40+ PLEASE get your Mammogram screening NOW.

My goal is raise $5,000 for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure all donations will be match 100% by OhioHealth. In my life nothing has ever scared me more than anxiously waiting to know what was happening and what would happen next. I am thankful that my tumor is benign but, I am forever thankful for all that have come before me some who didn’t make it and thousands that are now survivors. I am committed to helping find a CURE and I need your help! Please donate, today: http://columbus.info-komen.org/site/TR?pg=fund&fr_id=1550&pxfid=167906

Training Marbles, Inc. is avid support of the Race for the Cure and we’re asking for your help to raise $5,000; Your donatations are appreciated and every dollar counts. Let’s remember that everyone of us can be impacted by this disease at any moment.

http://columbus.info-komen.org/site/TR?pg=fund&fr_id=1550&pxfid=167906

Many clients have asked for a checklist for the Drug Free Safety Program Requirements. Here is the link and I hope it helps outline the deadlines and lessens some of the confusion about when things are due. I will also post in the resource section of my website.

Drug Free Safety Program Compliance Checklist

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

JANUARY PARTICIPANTS

Oct 29th is the deadline for applying for the DFSP January program participants. Application for Public and Private employers must make the following selections:

Program Levels:
Basic – 4% premium discount
Advanced – 7% premium discount (3% discount for group rated employers participating at the advanced level)
ALL employers may apply for reimbursement (Grant Money) for specified start-up cost for the first two years of participation.

Safety Requirements:
Online Safety Assessment must be completed by ALL participants within 60 days
Online Accident Analysis Training for ALL supervisors (within 90 days)
Safety Action Pan Advanced participants (within 90 days)
Online Accident Report ALL participants with 30 days of notification of accident/injury

Training:
Employee Education Minimum of 1 hr. annually
Supervisor Training Minimum of 2 hrs. initially (onsite and webinar only) and 1 hr. in EACH subsequent year

Drug Testing:
Minimum requirement of 5-panel drug test. Pre-employment, Post-Accident, Reasonable Suspicion, Return-to-Duty, follow-up testing and 15% random drug/alcohol for ALL advanced participants.

Employee Assistance:
Basic Level participants – must provide a list of community resources and services available
Advanced Level participants – require a second chance (exception do apply) for a first positive and companies must pay for the initial assessment.

Training Marbles, Inc. – is a recognized and respected leader in the training industry with fifteen years of training and development experience. We are committed professional ready to exceed our clients’ expectations. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions, concerns or to setup your DFSP training program.

DOT Drug- Testing panel changed on Oct. 1, 2010. Under the new regulation the Department of Transportation (DOT) panel and the NON-DOT panel will change as follows:

• Marijuana (THC)
• Cocaine
• Amphetamines
  1. Amphetamine
  2. Methamphetamine
  3. MDMA
  4. MDA
  5. MDEA
• Opiates
  1. Codeine
  2. Morphine
  3. 6-AM (heroin)

  Phencyclidine (PCP)

DOT testing has always included confirmatory testing, when appropriate this change requires testing for ALL test. The other change in drug testing is the cutoff levels

What are the cutoff concentrations for drug tests?

Please make sure your Drug Free Policy are updated accordingly. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, concerns or comments.