Training Marbles Blog

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.

Received a call this morning regarding a Diluted Specimen which has sparked me to post some general information for all employers. So the question becomes what to do with a dilute specimen if an employee is covered by DOT, DOT rules prevail (RETEST with MRO follow-up). If it’s NON-DOT test than this is a procedure item that need to be addressed in your companies policy.

Regarding these two categories of dilute, DOT and HHS differ as follows:

As drug free workplace programs have evolved, a parallel industry devoted to finding any and all means of hiding the presence of illicit drugs has evolved right along with it. This doesn’t mean that everyone is trying to beat the test. Employer should remain aware that there are many legitimate reasons that could cause a diluted specimens, including disease states, medications, medical advice, habits of fluid consumption, and types of fluid consumed by normal people living normal lives.

While it is important to list clear levels of  “normal urine” and remain consistent with all employee’s. Here are a few words that require your immediate attention; inconclusive, substituted, not consistent with human urine, adulterated specimen..just to name a few.

Employers should break up the group of dilute specimens (creatinines of 2 mg/dl to less than 20 mg/dl) into two categories. For simplicity we will call them “dilute” and “hyper-dilute” and define the corresponding levels and next step for your company.

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) is retiring it’s current Drug-Free Workplace Program as of June 30th and replacing it with the Drug-Free Safety Program (DFSP) as of July 1, 2010.Training Marbles, Inc. (TMI) invites you to join us for live webinars to discuss the new program. This is a great opportunity to find out about the benefits, requirements and have any questions answered.

Following is the list of our sessions:

• May 20th @10 am
• June 2nd@1pm
• June 16th@10am
• June 25th@10am

Please contact Dyann McDowell at dmcdowell@trainingmarbles.com to register

The FDA has recalled infant and children’s liquid Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, and Zyrtec due to a manufacturing deficiencies which may affect quality, purity or potency.  Some of the products included in the recall may contain a higher concentration of active ingredient than specified (overdose risk); others contain inactive ingredients that may not meet internal testing requirements; and others may contain tiny particles.

If you need medication for a sick child the FDA recommends using a generic version of the medication that is not made by McNeil Consumer Health. You can also, talk to your pharmacist or pediatrician.

recall link:  http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm210441.htm