The Mississippi State University Faculty Senate voted almost unanimously against a recently-approved drug and alcohol testing policy. The Senate, which held its first meeting of the semester Friday, decided to take more time to discuss the details of the policy before deciding how to revise the current regulations.Faculty Senate member and wildlife and fisheries professor Louis D’Abramo said the results of the vote were 24 in favor, 1 against and 4 abstentions.
Senate President Robert Wolverton said the details of the current policy, which went into effect May 5, are still unclear and will require more time to consider before more specific guidelines can be set.
“There is still a lot of rewriting that needs to be done,” Wolverton said. “It is a question of the implementation of it.”
In the meeting’s agenda, Wolverton said in his report to the Senate that MSU President Robert ‘Doc’ Foglesong “wanted this done the right way.”
“President Foglesong is charging us to write it the way we want it set,” Wolverton said. “A lot of the information really isn’t available yet.”
Despite the setback, Wolverton said the Senate is already in the process of clarifying the language in the policy.
“It is my hope that the re-working can be accomplished in time for the document to be presented to the Senate at its October meeting,” he said.
During the meeting, Senate members posed questions to MSU human resources management assistant director Judy Spencer, who was a guest speaker at the meeting. A few Senate members argued that the policy is unclear at this juncture as to whom it applies to and what the conditions are for employees who fail tests.
“We didn’t get to that level of detail,” Spencer said.
It was also discussed among Senate members that a required random drug test is an invasion of privacy.
According to the frequently asked questions document in the meeting agenda, a background screen for graduate students, student workers, post doctoral and rehired retirees is currently only required for certain positions. Those affected presently include employees who handle cash and checks, have contact with minors and have access to residence hall rooms and student or employee information.
Also subject to screens are “positions having patient contact or access to prescription medications.”
According to the document, each average screen costs approximately $68 and is paid for by the academic department administering the test.
The policy presently excludes current university employees who are moving to a new position.
Mark Goodman, associate professor of communication and Faculty Senate member, said the ramifications of the policy will soon be ironed out.
“It looks like things are going to work out,” Goodman said. [Faculty Senate Vice President] Walter Diehl will bring a plan to the Senate, and we will pass something on to Dr. Foglesong. Hopefully we can reach an agreement with him.”
In compliance with the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988, MSU’s Drug and Alcohol Free Workforce Policy was originally enforced in 1990.
The Senate is scheduled to meet again at 2 p.m. Oct. 12 at Coskrey Auditorium in Memorial Hall.