BIGHORN – Employees who work for the Municipal District of Bighorn will no longer be allowed to use medicinal marijuana on the job and may have to submit to a drug or alcohol test if they appear impaired.
According to officials with the MD, the new workplace policy follows industry best practices and will ensure employees are able to perform their work duties safety, competently and efficiently.
“I think it’s a very important thing to do,” said Reeve Dene Cooper, prior to council unanimously approving the new policy on Dec. 11.
“I think this is a policy directed to the safety of everyone that we have responsibilities for as an MD – our staff, our residents, our contractors and working groups in the community.”
CAO Martin Buckley said the new policy was initially drafted by the MD’s safety committee and will provide consistent guidelines for all employees.
“We had one or two instances well over a decade ago where we had to very quietly talk to certain people that are actually no longer with the organization and explain that their conduct with respect to this sort of thing outside of their work was affecting their work and they needed to change their actions and they did,” said Buckley.
According to the new policy, employees are prohibited from being under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances or using any form of prescription drugs, including medicinal cannabis.
This rule extends to employees who are on-call and receiving stand-by pay, however if unexpected circumstances arise and an employee is needed while under the influence it is the responsibility of that individual to decline the call.
To prevent accidents, the policy states the MD may implement a drug or alcohol test when an employee is displaying the appearance of impairment, a supervisor has reasonable suspicion that the employee is impaired, or engaging in substance use while on the job, or the circumstances surrounding a workplace accident are unclear.
According to the policy, employees who violate the policy may be subject to disciplinary action, including losing their job.
Buckley said the new policy is part of series of new corporate policies the MD intends to implement in 2019, including a new workplace harassment policy and a workplace violence policy to deal with members of the public who are overly aggressive.
“We’re not having any incidents like that, but we do want to put in place proper procedures and policies for our employees to be aware of and know that there are safe guards being put in place for them.”
As part of the MD’s new policy, any employee who tests positive for drugs or alcohol will be advised of their result and suspended immediately with pay until the MD decides on what disciplinary action to follow. If an employee is not terminated, they will be required to undergo a drug and alcohol test prior to being permitted to return to work.
As part of the policy the MD has also placed an emphasis on providing assistance to employees struggling with substance abuse, including helping them find help. An employee who acknowledges they have a drug or alcohol abuse problem will not be disciplined, however this cannot be used as a defence when an employee has violated the policy and disciplinary action is imminent.
According to the policy, if the cost of a treatment program is not covered in the MD’s employee benefits package, the employee and the CAO can mutually agree on the type of treatment an individual needs and will help cover a portion of the costs.
