The Town of Sebago recognizes that alcohol and drug problems are problems for which there is effective treatment and rehabilitation in the majority of cases. Employee assistance is designed as a means of helping employees seek the necessary treatment to alleviate problems affecting job performance. Therefore, the Town has established an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to service employees in dealing with drug or alcohol problems.
Employees may receive assistance from the EAP through self-referral or supervisory referral.
Self-referral is a referral in which an employee initiates contact with the EAP directly.
Supervisory referral is a referral in which the employee’s supervisor strongly urges the employee
to seek consultation with the EAP. Supervisors may refer employees to the EAP when
deteriorating skills or job performance does not respond to normal supervisory action.
Employees who seek help through the EAP or who are referred to the EAP by a supervisor will be referred for diagnosis and/or evaluation by an Employee Assistance Counselor. The employee assistance counselor is a person who has a Master’s Degree (or similar certification) in counseling, human services or social work who will provide counseling or refer the employee to appropriate diagnosis, evaluation and/or treatment. The employee assistance counselor will be designated by the Town.
An employee who refuses help or demonstrates little or no effort to perform satisfactorily is subject to normal disciplinary actions. Employees participating in the EAP are expected to meet existing job performance standards and establish work rules.
All EAP records are confidential and maintained separately from other personnel records. These records will be protected from disclosure to the fullest extent possible and existing state and federal regulations.
In the case of a supervisory referral, the employee assistance counselor will ask the employee to sign appropriate release forms so that the counselor can have contact with the supervisor and the referral agent, if applicable.
The counselor will be responsible for keeping a record of the diagnostic evaluation and the treatment recommendation which will be kept confidential.
The counselor will inform the supervisor as to whether the employee kept the appointment with the counselor and whether the employee was willing to follow through the treatment plan. The counselor will follow up with the employee as treatment progresses.
If the employee’s performance or attendance shows no improvement within a reasonable time frame (mutually agreed up, if possible) the employee will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.
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