Policies on Alcohol and Illegal Drugs

In November of 1988, the United States Congress enacted the Anti-Drug Abuse Act which contains a section called the “Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988”. This section requires organizations receiving federal grants and contracts to insure that their workplaces are free from illegal use, possession, manufacture or distribution of controlled substances.

The law requires employers who receive federal funds to:

• Notify employees that drug abuse is prohibited in the workplace,
• Establish a drug-free awareness program,
• Require each employee to notify the College of any criminal conviction for violations occurring in the workplace, and Impose sanctions or remedial actions for convicted employees.

This law also requires individuals who receive federal funds to certify to the contracting or granting agency that, as a condition of the grant, he or she will not engage in the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession or use of a controlled substance in conducting any activity under the grant. This requirement also applies to students who are recipients of Pell Grants. By signing the certification required for eligibility under the Pell Grant Program, a student is agreeing not to engage in the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession or use of a controlled substance during the period covered by his or her Pell Grant at all times. A Pell Grant recipient convicted of a criminal drug offense must report the conviction, in writing, within ten calendar days of the conviction to the Director, Grants and Contracts Service, U.S. Department of Education.

Any employee convicted of any workplace-related criminal drug violation must notify the appropriate College official within five calendar days after conviction. Faculty should contact the Dean of Faculty and staff should contact the Director of Human Resources. Failure to report a conviction may be grounds for termination of employment.

Violations of the Drug-Free Workplace Act may result in:

• Disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment
• Suspension of payments under the grant
• Suspension or termination of the grant
• Suspension or debarment of the grantee

The Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989 require Colby to certify that it has adopted and implemented a program to prevent the illicit use of drugs and the abuse of alcohol by its students and employees. This program must include the annual distribution of the following to each student and employee:

• standards of conduct that clearly prohibit, at a minimum, the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of drugs and alcohol by students and employees on an institution’s property or as any part of the institution’s activities;
• a description of the applicable legal sanctions under local, state, and federal law for unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs or alcohol;
• a description of the health risks associated with the use of illicit drugs and the abuse of alcohol;
• a description of any drug and alcohol counseling, treatment, or rehabilitation program that are available to students and employees; and
• a clear statement that the institution will impose sanctions on students and employees (consistent with local, State, and Federal law) and a description of these sanctions, up to and including expulsion or termination of employment and referral for prosecution for violation of the standards of conduct.