The Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners voted last week to make changes to its employee drug testing policy. The board voted to unanimously to make changes to the policy, including new language about legal drugs, at the July 16, meeting.
Under the former drug-free workplace policy, employees testing positive for drugs or alcohol were subject to disciplinary action “up to and including discharge for a first offense” or other remedial measures based on individual circumstances.
Under the new policy, the county has discretion in whether an employee is disciplined for testing positive for legal drugs or alcohol. The county will continue to not tolerate illegal drugs, spokeswoman Taylor Koopman said.
The change to the policy removes the word “will” and replaces it with “may,” regarding when/if the county disciplines an employee, the agenda packet states.
The board agenda does not disclose a reason for the change. Koopman did not immediately respond to a question about why the change was made.
The board also voted to remove the a policy about medical marijuana, to bring the county into alignment with state rules.
This story was published in MLive