14B N.C. Admin. Code 8B.0110

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 11, December 2, 2024

Section 08B .0110 - APPLICATION PROCESS: STEP NINE: PHYSICAL EXAMINATION

(a) The chief shall make arrangements for the BPS Medical Services Director to perform physical examinations of an adequate number of applicants to fill vacant positions at BPS.

(b) The chief shall send to the BPS Medical Services Director a letter authorizing each physical examination, a copy of the results of the vision tests already taken by each applicant, and a copy of the Medical History Form already completed by each applicant. The chief will also arrange an appointment for each applicant with the BPS Medical Services Director and shall inform each applicant of the date and time of his/her appointment.

(c) Each applicant must be in excellent physical condition, with no physical handicap or condition which would impair the applicant's performance of BPS duties. Physical standards for BPS shall be set by the BPS Medical Services Director as provided in Section .0200 (MEDICAL SERVICES PROGRAM) of Subchapter 8B.

(d) Applicants and lateral transferees applying for Public Safety Officer positions shall be required to take a drug test as a condition of employment during the application process but not more than 60 days prior to the date of employment as a Public Safety Officer. The sample to be tested will be collected by the Director of Medical Services at the applicant's physical examination.

(1) Applicants and lateral transferees shall be disqualified from further consideration for employment under the following circumstances:

(A) Refusal to submit to a required drug test; or

(B) A confirmed positive drug test indicating drug use prohibited by this policy.

(2) The specimen collection, testing procedures and other safeguards provided in this policy to ensure the integrity of drug testing shall be adhered to by all personnel administering drug tests. The specimen shall be collected under the supervision of the Director of Medical Services in a manner consistent with NIDA and DOT guidelines and documented on the Department's "Urine Specimen Collection Procedural Checklist" which is incorporated by reference as if fully set out herein.

(3) The sample testing or processing phase shall consist of a two-step procedure - an initial screening test using an immunoassay testing method and a confirmation test using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method.

(A) When the lab receives a urine sample it will conduct an initial screening test to check for the presence of illegal drugs. This initial screening test involves using an immunoassay testing method.

(B) The drugs whose use shall be tested for shall include cannabis, cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), opiates and amphetamines or their metabolites.

(C) The threshold levels established by the Department of Health and Human Services for Federal Workplace Drug Testing programs are hereby adopted by reference and shall automatically include any later amendments and editions of said adopted matter.

(D) The laboratory conducting the test must be certified for federal workplace drug testing programs, and must adhere to applicable federal rules, regulations and guidelines pertaining to the handling, testing, storage and preservation of samples.

(E) Should the initial test produce a positive result for the presence of an illegal drug, the lab must perform a second test. The second screening will be performed by using the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) testing method.

(F) The laboratory will report a test result as positive if, and only if, both the initial test and the confirmation test show the presence of an illegal drug at or above the adopted threshold levels.

(G) The laboratory will report all test results directly to the Director of Medical Services.

(4) In order to provide, to the greatest extent possible, for the privacy and confidentiality of applicants who are required to submit to drug testing, all laboratory results will be sent directly to the Director of Medical Services.

(A) All specimens reported by the laboratory as negative will in turn be reported to BPS by the Director of Medical Services as negative.

(B) With respect to confirmed positive results, the Director of Medical Services:

(i) May conduct medical interviews with the applicant;

(ii) May review the applicant's medical histories or any other biomedical factors;

(iii) Shall review all medical records made available by the applicant when a confirmed positive could have resulted from legal prescribed medicine;

(iv) May deem the results scientifically insufficient for further action and declare the result to be negative based on a review of such data or facts as he may deem appropriate; and

(v) Shall report positive results to the Chief, Butner Public Safety.

(C) The Chief, BPS shall notify an applicant who produces a positive drug test result of that fact and reject that applicant for employment as a public safety officer.

(D) Each step in the collecting and processing of the urine specimens shall be documented to establish procedural integrity and the chain of custody.

(E) Where a positive result is confirmed, urine specimens shall be maintained by the laboratory in secured, refrigerated storage for an indefinite period.

(F) A positive result which the Director of Medical Services justifies by appropriate medical or scientific documentation to account for the result as other than the intentional ingestion of an illegal drug will be reported as a negative result and may not be released for purposes of identifying illegal drug use. Records of the Director of Medical Services shall be released only to the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety and the Butner Public Safety Division, and when necessary, to the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.

(G) All records and information of personnel actions taken on applicants with verified positive test results will be maintained in accordance with state and BPS policy and procedures.

(e) After the BPS Medical Services Director has completed the examination, he shall recommend to the chief whether the applicant should be accepted or rejected.

14B N.C. Admin. Code 08B .0110

Authority G.S. 122C-408; 143B-10;
Eff. March 1, 1982;
Amended Eff. November 1, 1990;
Transferred from 14A NCAC 10B .0110 Eff. June 1, 2013.