The City of St. Francis has the responsibility of providing a safe, healthy and efficient work environment for all safety sensitive employees. In an effort to enhance the personal wellbeing of the City of St. Francis employees and their immediate family members and to contain the rising health care premiums of its work force, the city council of City of St. Francis has chosen to make an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) available to all safety sensitive employees and their immediate family members.

POLICY

The city council of the City of St. Francis will provide an employee Assistance Program for all safety sensitive employees and their immediate family members.

A.   The EAP will be available for use on a voluntary basis as well as for mandatory referrals.

B.    The EAP will provide assessment and referral services.

C.    The EAP will offer thorough and complete confidentiality.

D.   The Mayor of City of St. Francis shall be responsible for oversight and maintenance of the EAP and will provide, with the support of City of St. Francis, high level direction and promotion of the EAP.

E.    The EAP will provide training and education for all safety sensitive employees on how to utilize the program and will provide additional training and education for supervisors who will be allowed to make mandatory referrals.

PROCEDURE

The EAP “Supportline” 1-800-989-1196 will be coordinated by an external agency, the Mental Health Consortium, Inc. This program will include a toll-free 800 number, available 24 hours a day to be answered by a master’s level mental “health professional who will provide telephone counseling, and if requested by the caller, referral to appropriate services for further assistance. The 800 # and the policy will be provided to each individual safety sensitive employee and be available on company bulletin boards.

VOLUNTARY REFERRAL

The EAP will be available to all safety sensitive employees and immediate family members to utilize at their own discretion as needed. Unlimited access is available. This process will involve the employee or family member merely dialing the 800 number and discussing the problem with a mental health professional. If requested by the caller and/or if appropriate, a referral will be made to appropriate resources to deal with the problem.

MANDATORY REFERRAL

Mandatory referrals may be made to the EAP by the supervisors of the City of St. Francis. A mandatory referral shall be the result of a documented problem or problems related to poor job performance on the part of the employee. If a mandatory referral is made by a supervisor, the referral form shall be completed by the supervisor, signed by the employee and the form forwarded to mayor of City of St. Francis (See exhibit “a”). Mayor of City of St. Francis will contact the EAP counselor to alert them to the required contract. The employee will have 48 hours from after signing the referral form to contact an EAP counselor by calling hours from after signing the referral form to contract an EAP counselor by calling the 800 number and setting up a face-to-face meeting with appropriate referral sources. The EAP counselor will confirm contact from the employee by notifying the mayor of City of St. Francis. Failure to contact the EAP counselor within 48 hours without just cause may be grounds for disciplinary action, including termination.

In the case of a mandatory referral for drug tasting, the supervisor will accompany the employee to be tested to the loafing site.

CONFIDENTIALITY

The Employee Assistance Program Administrator (Mental Health Consortium, Inc.) shall maintain only those records necessary to comply with the program. After a supervisor refers an employee to the EAP, the EAP will maintain all records necessary to carry out its duties. All medical and/or rehabilitation records concerning the employee’s problem, including the employee’s identity, diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment are confidential and may be disclosed only when authorized through written consent of the employee.

LEAVE ALLOWANCE

A.   VOLUNTARY REFERRAL

       Employees will be allowed to utilize their accrued leave to voluntarily access the EAP, should such appointment(s) be necessary during their normal working hours. City of St. Francis would encourage employees to pursue assessment and counseling during off duty hours whenever possible.

B.    MANDATORY REFERRAL

       Employees’ leave will be used for referral and assessment sessions which are mandated by the employee’s supervisor, or the mayor of City of St. Francis. Further, counseling activities beyond referral and assessment will be the responsibility of the employee.

TRAINING AND EDUCATION

The EAP will provide an initial training and education program for employees to familiarize them with the program and its process. The Mental Health Consortium will provide two additional hours of training and education for supervisors to provide background on drugs and information for appropriate mandatory referrals through documented job performance incidents. As a result of this training, a supervisor may determine whether an employee may be drug tested for reasonable suspicion.

INFORMATIONAL MATERIAL

Through the Employee Assistance Program of the Mental Health Consortium informational materials in the form of posters, payroll stuffers and pamphlets will be made available to employees on a regular basis.

(01-04-1994)