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Commission asks chief to verify Concentra follows updated drug-free workplace policy; progress report notes personnel handbook adoption
Summary
A commissioner asked the police chief to confirm that contracted provider Concentra is enforcing the current drug-free workplace policy rather than an older 2007 version; Attorney Eichenfelder said the city must provide the vendor the current policy and clear testing instructions. The progress report also noted recent adoption of the employee personnel handbook and updated Civil Service Commission rules.
A commissioner on the Madeira Beach Civil Service Commission on June 30 asked the police chief to verify that occupational-health vendor Concentra is using the city’s current drug-free workplace policy and not an outdated 2007 version.
At the meeting Mr. Halford directed attention to item C on page 71 and asked whether Chief Belk had followed up to ensure the contractor is applying the updated policy. Mr. Ashworth and Chief Belk said the provider had been contracted to administer drug testing and physicals and that there was concern the vendor might possess only an older version of the policy. Chief Belk agreed to follow up and make sure Concentra receives the current policy chapter.
Attorney Eichenfelder explained the city, as the employer, must tell the vendor what its policy requires. “We are supposed to tell them,” Eichenfelder said, pointing to detailed procedures in the current policy about what the medical-review officer may do and how an employee is informed and may appeal a positive test. The attorney urged staff to deliver the updated policy and confirm the vendor follows it going forward.
Commission discussion connected the vendor question to job descriptions because Concentra provides both drug testing and physicals; commissioners noted that precise physical requirements in job descriptions can affect who is tested or who qualifies for certain positions. Staff said updated job descriptions and a standardized approach to exit interviews are in development and that several personnel-related items — including the employee personnel handbook and updated Civil Service Commission rules — were adopted in prior actions and are noted as completed in the progress report.
The commission did not take a new formal vote on the vendor but instructed Chief Belk to verify compliance with the current policy and report back. The meeting record shows staff will follow up and that the commission’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Sept. 22.
