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The DFWP is a comprehensive drug testing program balanced between offering a helping hand to employees who are using drugs illegally and at the same time, making clear that illegal drug use will not be tolerated.
Executive Order 12564 established a goal of achieving a Drug-Free Federal Workplace and made it a condition of employment for all federal employees to refrain from using illegal drugs on or off duty. Section 503 of Public Law 100-71 was enacted to establish uniformity among federal agencies, requiring reliable and accurate drug testing, permitting employees access to their personal drug testing records, ensuring confidentiality of test results, and providing centralized program oversight. The Department of the Navy developed its Drug-Free Workplace Program and became certified to begin drug testing in December 1988. |
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- The President, in signing Executive Order 12564 on 15 September 1986, required that all federal agencies implement a program to achieve a drug-free workplace. In line with that, the DON has a compelling obligation to eliminate illegal drug use by its employee do to its national defense responsibilities and the sensitive nature of its work.
- Executive Order 12564 requires employees to refrain from the use of illegal drugs on and off duty and directs agencies to establish plans for achieving a drug-free workplace.
- Public Law 100-71 passed by Congress, on 11 July 1987, provides for consistent implementation of the Executive Order 12564 through the federal government and establishes requirements for accurate and reliable drug testing and confidentiality of test results.
- Department of the Navy Drug-Free Workplace Plan certified by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) on 27 April 1988, establishes the framework for implementation of the program in the DON.
- Department of Health and Human Services Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs establish strict procedures for collection and testing of urine samples from employees for detection of drug use.
- The primary mission of the DON is to protect the United States by the effective prosecution of war at sea and to maintain freedom of the seas. The performance of every civilian employee must, at all times, support this mission through a high level of productivity, reliability, and judgment. Illegal drug use by DON employees, on or off the job, has a negative impact on employee performance and is incompatible with the mission of the DON.
- Key components of the DFWP program include supervisory training; employee education; employee assistance through counseling and referral programs; safe harbor; and drug testing.
- Random Testing: Unannounced testing of employees in positions identified as Testing Designated Positions (TDPs). Selection is made on a random basis without prior announcement.
- Applicant Testing: Testing required of all individuals tentatively selected for employment in a TDP within DON. Applicant testing will include current DON employees who apply for a TDP position.
- Accident/Unsafe Practice Testing: Authorized Testing of any employee involved in an on-the-job accident, or who engages in unsafe, on-duty, job-related activity. This test requires a second-level supervisor approval.
- Voluntary Testing: Testing of employees who are not in, but who volunteer for unannounced random testing. Further information is available from your activity Drug Program Coordinator (DPC).
- Follow-up Testing: Testing of employees who undergo a counseling or rehabilitation program for illegal drug use through Civilian Employee Assistance Program (CEAP). The employees are subject to unannounced testing following completion of such a program for a minimum period of one year.
- Reasonable Suspicion Testing: Testing conducted when management has reason to believe that an employee may be using illegal drugs. The suspicion must be based on specific objective facts and reasonable inferences drawn from these facts, and be documented. Approval for such testing must be received from a higher level supervisor.
- When the duties of a positions meet the criteria which would make the incumbent subject to random drug testing, the positions is referred to as a ﾓ Testing Designated Positionﾔ. This could be based on the effect that the incumbent of the position could have on public health and safety or national security through failure to adequately discharge the duties of his or her position.
- DON civilian employees will be tested for six types of drugs: Marijuana (THC), Cocaine, Amphetamine/Methamphetamine, Opiates to include Heroin* (6 Acetyl morphine), Phencyclidine (PCP), and Ecstasy (MDMA).
- These drugs were selected by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) based on the incidence and prevalence of abuse in the general population as well as the experience of the Department of Defenseﾒs military drug testing program. DHHS has authorized DON to test for all six drugs.
- Once the program is implemented by the activity, the selection of the individuals for random testing will always be unannounced. An employee will be notified when and where to report by his or her supervisor approximately 15 or 30 minutes before the test.
- YES. Any individual subject to testing will be permitted to provide a urine specimen in private, in a restroom stall or similar enclosure, so that the employee is not observed. The employee will be accompanied into the restroom by a collector who will wait outside the stall while the sample is being provided, to detect any attempts of adulteration or substitution by the donor.
*An exception to this will be made in Reasonable Suspicion, and Follow-Up Testing. In such cases, collection site personnel, of the same gender as the donor, would directly observe the donor provide the sample.
- At the lab, any specimen identified as positive on the initial screening test will be subject to a second screening test, and if positive, then subject to a confirmatory test using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) techniques. This is regarded as the most accurate confirmation process by both scientific and legal communities. GC/MS technology has been used for many years by forensic toxicologists and medical examiners for police, legal and court work. These tests will be conducted by the U.S. ARMY Forensic Toxicology Drug Testing Laboratory, Ft. Meade, Maryland, which has an established record of being certified with DHHS National Laboratory Certification Program (NLCP) and certified to test military specimens and civilian specimens.
- The drug testing lab may only disclose confirmed laboratory test results to the Medical Review Officer (MRO).
- The MRO is a physician, authorized by DON to receive test results, who must be knowledgeable in the medical use of prescription drugs and pharmacology and toxicology of illicit drugs. The MRO will afford the donor who has tested positive an opportunity to discuss the test results. The donor will be given the opportunity to medically justify the results by identifying and documenting the use of prescription medications which might cause the positive test. An employee may present any information, which he or she believes is relevant to the MRO.
- DON is committed to providing employees with drug problems assistance in overcoming the problem. Therefore, if an employee has been identified with a verified positive test result, he or she will be referred to the Civilian Employee Assistance Program (CEAP). The CEAP program can assist employees with counseling, referral and rehabilitation services available to them.
- The severity of the disciplinary action taken against an employee found to use illegal drugs will depend on the circumstances of each case and may range from a 14-day suspension to removal. In any case, however, the activity must initiate disciplinary action against any employee found to use illegal drugs except for an employee who voluntarily admits to illegal drug use under the "Safe Harbor" provision. For a second finding of illegal drug use, removal action must be initiated.
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