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Dayton council tables personnel-policy update after weeks-long THC testing debate
Summary
Councilors and public-safety leaders debated adding alcohol and cannabis testing language to the city's personnel policy; concerns about off-duty THC use, testing windows and liability led the council to table the update for clarification and legal input.
Dayton Mayor Cuthill and councilors on June 10 voted to table a proposed update to the city’s personnel policy after an extended debate over cannabis testing, return-to-work language and possible random testing.
The proposed update, presented by staff, would add an explicit alcohol provision and clarify drug- and alcohol-testing practices for employees. Staff said the intent was to align written policy with current practices and state law. "The personal policy is always the first one we look at every single year to make sure we're following state legislation," staff member Zach said during the presentation.
Council members raised concerns about provisions that could prohibit off-duty cannabis use by public-safety employees. "I don't feel like you should tell somebody what they can and cannot do with their free time if it's legal," a council member said, arguing that blanket prohibitions could be unfair if testing cannot determine when use occurred. Police and HR leaders countered that THC can remain in the body for weeks, raising liability concerns if an injury-on-duty occurs and the city cannot show testing was done. One public-safety official explained the challenges: "We have no idea, you know, it can be in your system for 30 days," and cautioned the council about the legal exposure.
Councilors and chiefs also debated whether the policy should allow random testing. Several members described past instances where random testing had been "weaponized" and urged removing the provision; council reached consensus to remove random testing from the draft. On the separate point of return-to-work testing, councilors said the existing draft was ambiguous about whether return-to-work testing would apply after medical or voluntary leaves; several asked staff to clarify the triggering conditions.
After discussing options and asking staff and the city's attorney to clarify the legal and operational implications, a motion to table the personnel policy update passed on a 3-1 vote. The council directed staff to return with clarified language on return-to-work testing and other requested edits at the next meeting.
The vote leaves current personnel rules in place while city staff and legal advisers refine the draft. The council's next meeting will include the clarified personnel-policy language for further consideration.
