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Sec. 23.10.655. Disciplinary procedures.

(a) An employer may take adverse employment action based on

(1) a positive drug test or alcohol impairment test result that indicates a violation of the employer's written policy;

(2) the refusal of an employee or prospective employee to provide a drug testing sample; or

(3) the refusal of an employee to provide an alcohol impairment testing sample.

(b) Adverse employment action under (a) of this section may include

(1) a requirement that the employee enroll in an employer provided or employer approved rehabilitation, treatment, or counseling program; the program may include additional drug testing and alcohol impairment testing; the employer may require participation in the program as a condition of employment; costs of participating in the program may or may not be covered by the employer's health plan or policies;

(2) suspension of the employee, with or without pay, for a designated period of time;

(3) termination of employment;

(4) in case of drug testing, refusal to hire a prospective employee; and

(5) other adverse employment action.

Sec. 23.10.660. Confidentiality of results; access to records.

A communication received by an employer relevant to drug test or alcohol impairment test results and received through the employer's testing program is a confidential and privileged communication and may not be disclosed except

(1) to the tested employee or prospective employee or another person designated in writing by the employee or prospective employee;

(2) to individuals designated by an employer to receive and evaluate test results or hear the explanation of the employee or prospective employee; or

(3) as ordered by a court or governmental agency.

Sec. 23.10.670. Effect of mandatory testing obligations.

An employer who is obligated by state or federal requirements to have a drug testing or alcohol impairment testing policy or program shall receive the full benefits of AS 23.10.600 - 23.10.699 even if the required policy or program is not consistent with AS 23.10.600 - 23.10.699, so long as the employer complies with the state or federal requirements applicable to the employer's operations.

Sec. 23.10.699. Definitions.

In AS 23.10.600 - 23.10.699,

(1) "alcohol" means ethanol, isopropanol, or methanol;

(2) "drugs" means a substance considered unlawful under AS 11.71 or the metabolite of the substance;

(3) "drug testing" means testing for evidence of the use of a drug;

(4) "employee" means a person in the service of an employer;

(5) "employer" means a person who employs one or more full-time employees under a contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written;

(6) "good faith" means reasonable reliance on fact, or that which is held out to be factual, without the intent to deceive or be deceived and without reckless or malicious disregard for the truth;

(7) "prospective employee" means a person who has made application to an employer, whether written or oral, to become an employee;

(8) "random" means a scientifically valid method that ensures that all covered employees have an equal chance of being selected;

(9) "sample" means urine or breath from the person being tested.

Chapter 23.15. EMPLOYMENT SERVICES

Article 01. VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION

Sec. 23.15.010. Administration of vocational rehabilitation.

The commissioner shall administer the vocational rehabilitation program.

Sec. 23.15.020. Powers and duties of commissioner.

(a) The commissioner may cooperate with a federal agency, as provided and required by federal law for vocational rehabilitation.

(b) The commissioner shall comply with the federal laws and the conditions necessary to secure the full benefit of the federal vocational rehabilitation laws, and shall do all things necessary to entitle the state to receive the benefits of the federal laws.

(c) The commissioner may do all the things and adopt the regulations that are necessary to carry out the federal laws and the purposes of AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210.

Sec. 23.15.030. Appointment of administrative officers.

The commissioner may appoint administrative officers and delegate to them the authority necessary to carry out AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210.

Sec. 23.15.040. Division of vocational rehabilitation established.

The division of vocational rehabilitation is established under the commissioner to carry out AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210.

Sec. 23.15.050. Director of vocational rehabilitation.

The commissioner shall appoint a director of the division of vocational rehabilitation. The director has the administrative authority delegated by the commissioner and necessary to carry out AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210 and the regulations and policies adopted by the commissioner.

Sec. 23.15.060. Agreements under Social Security Act.

(a) The commissioner may enter into necessary agreements on behalf of the state with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out the provisions of the federal Social Security Act, as amended, and as it is subsequently amended, relating to the making of determinations of disability under Title II and Title XVI of that Act.

(b) The Department of Revenue shall act as the custodian of funds paid by the federal government to the state, shall comply with agreements entered into under the Social Security Act, and shall disburse the funds in accordance with instructions from the director of the division of vocational rehabilitation.

Sec. 23.15.070. Personnel policies [Repealed, Sec. 84 ch 58 SLA 1999].

Repealed or Renumbered

Sec. 23.15.080. Eligibility for vocational rehabilitation service.

(a) Vocational rehabilitation service shall be provided directly or through a public or private instrumentality to a handicapped individual who

(1) is a resident of the state at the time of application for the service and whose vocational rehabilitation the agency determines after full investigation can be satisfactorily achieved; or

(2) is eligible for the service under an agreement with another state or with the federal government.

(b) In determining the types and extent of vocational rehabilitation services to be provided to a handicapped individual, the agency shall take into consideration any similar benefits that may be available to the individual under other programs. However, the agency may not take other benefits into consideration when doing so would significantly delay the provision of needed services to the handicapped individual. The agency need not take other benefits into consideration when they are for

(1) diagnostic and related services, including transportation and subsistence in connection with those services;

(2) counseling, guidance, and referral;

(3) training, including personal and vocational adjustment training, and necessary training materials;

(4) services to members of families of handicapped individuals;

(5) job placement; and

(6) services necessary to assist handicapped individuals to maintain suitable employment.

Sec. 23.15.090. Priority as to eligibility.

If vocational rehabilitation service cannot be provided for all eligible handicapped individuals who apply, the agency shall provide by regulation for determining the order to be followed in selecting those to whom the services will be provided.

Sec. 23.15.100. Powers and duties; vending facilities.

(a) In carrying out AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210 the agency shall

(1) take the action it considers necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210, and adopt regulations in conformity with these purposes;

(2) determine the eligibility of applicants for vocational rehabilitation service;

(3) submit to the governor annual reports of activities and expenditures and, before each regular session of the legislature, estimates of sums required for carrying out AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210 and estimates of the amounts to be made available for this purpose from all sources;

(4) cooperate with public and private departments, agencies, and institutions in providing for the vocational rehabilitation of handicapped individuals, studying the problems involved in providing this rehabilitation, and establishing, developing, and providing, in conformity with the purposes of AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210, the programs, facilities, and services that may be necessary or desirable;

(5) survey the potential for providing vending facilities on public property and, when feasible, establish vending facilities operated by blind persons and severely handicapped persons on public property;

(6) license blind persons and severely handicapped persons in accordance with AS 23.15.133 for the operation of vending facilities on public property, with blind persons having first priority for operation of the vending facilities;

(7) provide the training and supervision necessary to enable blind persons and severely handicapped persons to operate vending facilities;

(8) provide the equipment and initial stock necessary to enable blind persons and severely handicapped persons to operate vending facilities.

(b) In carrying out AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210, the agency may

(1) enter into agreements with other states to provide for the vocational rehabilitation of residents of the states concerned;

(2) establish and operate rehabilitation facilities and workshops and make grants to public and other nonprofit organizations for these purposes;

(3) supervise the operation of vending stands and other small businesses established under AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210 to be conducted by severely handicapped individuals;

(4) make studies, investigations, demonstrations, and reports, and provide training and instruction, including the establishment and maintenance of the research fellowships and traineeships with the stipends and allowances that are considered necessary, in matters relating to vocational rehabilitation; and

(5) adopt regulations necessary for carrying out the provisions of AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210.

Sec. 23.15.110. Extension of services outside state.

Vocational rehabilitation service may be extended to the continental United States to all individuals eligible under AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210. The director may place professional or clerical personnel or both inside the continental United States to carry out the purposes of AS 23.15.010 - 23.15.210.

Sec. 23.15.120. Cooperation with federal government.

(a) The agency shall cooperate with the federal government in carrying out the purposes of federal laws pertaining to vocational rehabilitation, including the licensing of blind persons to operate vending stands on federal property, and may adopt the methods of administration that are found by the federal government to be necessary for the proper and efficient operation of agreements or plans for vocational rehabilitation. The agency may comply with the conditions that are necessary to obtain the full benefits of the federal laws for the state and its residents.

(b) Upon designation by the governor, the agency may perform functions and services for the federal government relating to individuals under a physical or mental disability, in addition to those provided in (a) of this section.

Sec. 23.15.125. Assistive technology loan guarantee and interest subsidy program.

(a) An assistive technology loan guarantee fund is established in the agency. The fund consists of money appropriated to it. The agency may solicit and accept available public and private money for distribution from the fund.

(b) Subject to (c) and (d) of this section, the agency may use money in the fund established under this section to guarantee 90 percent of the principal amount of a loan or to subsidize the interest rate of a loan guaranteed by the agency for appropriate assistive technology that is best suited for enabling a person with a disability to

(1) obtain or maintain employment; or

(2) live more independently.

(c) The agency may guarantee a loan or subsidize the interest rate of a loan guaranteed under this section if

(1) the loan is made to a person with a disability or a member of the person's family to obtain assistive technology for the person with a disability within the limitations of (b) of this section;

(2) the loan is originated and serviced by a state or federally chartered financial institution located in the state;

(3) before a loan guarantee or subsidy is requested from a lending institution, the agency determines that the person requesting the loan guarantee or subsidy is not able to obtain the needed assistive technology from a less costly source;

(4) the lending institution determines that the person or the family of a child reasonably can be expected to repay the loan given their expected income or other resources; and

(5) for a loan to modify a vehicle to provide transportation for a person with a disability, the applicant has been steadily employed for the 90 days immediately preceding the date of the loan application.

(d) The director shall establish an assistive technology loan committee within the agency. The committee shall consist of the director, or the director's designee, a representative of a financial institution who is experienced with consumer loans, and at least one but not more than three persons with disabilities. The committee shall

(1) establish guidelines for providing loans under this section, including guidelines relating to the maximum amounts and duration of loans and guidelines to ensure that persons with disabilities who live in rural or remote areas of the state have adequate access to loans under this section;

(2) annually establish the percentage of money in the fund that may be used for subsidizing the interest rates on loans guaranteed under this section; and

(3) make reports and recommendations to the legislature on the operation of the loan program.

(e) In this section,

(1) "assistive technology" means durable equipment, adaptive aids, and assistive devices;

(2) "person with a disability" means a handicapped individual or an individual having a physical or mental disability.

Sec. 23.15.130. Vocational rehabilitation small business enterprise revolving fund.

(a) There is created in the state treasury a revolving fund designated as the vocational rehabilitation small business enterprise revolving fund. The fund shall be administered by the director.

(b) Receipts from the net proceeds of vending facilities on public property, other than vending facilities operated by a licensee, shall be paid into the fund.

(c) The commissioner of administration shall separately account for receipts under (b) of this section that are paid into the vocational rehabilitation small business enterprise revolving fund. The annual estimated receipts of the fund may be used by the legislature to make appropriations to the department to aid licensees in operating vending machine facilities.

(d) In this section "net proceeds" means the gross receipts from operating a vending facility less the costs of operation and a fair return to the operator, to be determined by the agency.

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