Drug and Alcohol Policy

The employees of the College are its most valuable resource, and their health and safety are of great importance. The use of illegal drugs and the abuse of alcohol are harmful to employee health, and the College will not tolerate any drug or alcohol use which imperils the health and well-being of its employees, students, or the public at large, or which could result in damage to college property. All employees have the right to work in a drug and alcohol-free environment, and the College is committed to maintaining a safe workplace free from the influence of illegal drugs and alcohol. 

  This statement of the drug and alcohol-free workplace policy of the College is being provided as part of its good faith commitment in complying with the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and to maintain a safe workplace. Employees are required to abide by this policy as a condition of their employment with the College. 

  Definitions 

  For purposes of this policy, the term “prohibited drugs” means any “controlled substances” as defined at 21 U.S.C. 802 and listed on Schedules I through V of 21 U.S.C. 812; 21 CFR Part 1308; and Article V, Chapter 90 of the North Carolina General Statutes, as revised from time to time, and as defined by other federal statutes and regulations. Generally, these are drugs, which have a high potential for abuse and include but are not limited to heroin, marijuana, cocaine, PCP, methamphetamines, amphetamines, and “crack.” Also included are any other drugs that are illegal under federal, state, or local law, legal drugs that have been obtained illegally or are not being taken as prescribed by a licensed health care provider, and substances that are not intended for human consumption (such as glue). “Alcohol” means the intoxicating agent in beverage alcohol, ethyl alcohol, or other low molecular weight alcohols, including methyl and isopropyl alcohol. 

  For purposes of this policy, “workplace” includes the buildings, grounds, and parking lots of the College campus, satellite facilities, including the use of any other location where the business of the College is being performed or carried out, and College equipment and vehicles. 

  Violation of Policy 

  A violation of this drug and alcohol use policy occurs when any employee: 

• Engages in the unlawful or unauthorized manufacture, distribution, dispensing of, possession of, sale, purchase, or use of any prohibited drug or alcohol while at the workplace, while traveling to or from the workplace, while using equipment owned or leased by the College, while in a vehicle owned or leased by the College, while at work or during working hours, while engaged in business for the College, or while representing the College away from the workplace, except for the reasonable social use of alcohol in a business/social setting; 
• Manufactures, distributes, dispenses, possesses, sells, purchases, or uses prohibited drugs away from the workplace in a manner that adversely affects the employee’s work performance, his or her or others’ safety at work, or the regard or reputation of the College in the community 
• Manufactures, distributes, dispenses, possesses, sells, purchases, or uses alcohol away from the workplace in a manner that adversely affects the employee’s work performance or his or her or others’ safety at work; 
• Fails to report to the College a conviction under any federal or state criminal drug statute or conviction of an alcohol-related crime more than five (5) calendar days following such conviction; or 
• Stores any prohibited drug or alcohol in a locker, desk, vehicle, or other repository owned or leased by the College or located at the workplace. 

  No employee, student, or guest shall knowingly use or be under the influence of any non-prescribed narcotic drug, a hallucinogenic drug, amphetamine, barbiturate, marijuana, alcoholic beverage, or intoxicant of any kind on the College campus; however, the legal use of alcoholic beverages may be allowed as appropriate at selected off-campus college-sponsored activities.