Employee Assistance Program

Book Policy Manual
Section SECTION G – PERSONNEL
Title Employee Assistance Program
Code GBPA
Status Active
Adopted December 17, 2019

Employee Assistance Program

 

SCOPE AND PURPOSE

 

Dayton Public Schools recognizes that our employees and their families have unique needs. Dayton Public Schools is
interested in the health and well-being of employees and is also concerned about the potential impact non-work
related problems may have on an employee’s job performance.

Effective January 1, 2020, Dayton Public Schools is offering an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to all employees.
This program is based on the premise that personal problems can negatively affect our lives and work situations. The
objective of this program is to assist in reducing these problems and retain valued employees. If personal problems
do affect work performance, the District has a responsibility to be concerned about the individual in relationship to the
School District operations.

The EAP is an Employee Assistance Program that exists to promote individual and organizational improvement. The
EAP provides confidential, professional counseling 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for Staff who have personal
problems that could affect their job performance through a wide range of services including assessment, short-term
counseling, referral, monitoring, special programming and workshops.

I. POLICY

 

  1. This Policy applies to all employees of Dayton Public Schools and their household members.
  2. The EAP program provides a confidential, professional, and clinical assessment for personal problems
    and workplace emotional/behavioral problems in order to form an Action Plan to guide the employee or
    family towards the appropriate level of care.
  3. The EAP provides counseling, consultation, and motivation for the employee or family to take steps to
    resolve the personal or workplace problems as early as possible.
  4. Supervisors in conjunction with Human Resources are encouraged to offer the EAP to employees as a
    tool for employees to help prevent or resolve the impact of any personal difficulty upon performance.
  5. Employees are encouraged to seek assistance on their own initiative before personal difficulties begin to
    affect their work performance.
  6. Employees who utilize the services of the EAP on their own are guaranteed full confidentiality within the
    limits of the law. Aggregate statistics will be compiled and maintained. No names will appear among
    those statistics.
  7. Informational records created in the EAP will not be divulged outside the EAP without the written
    permission of the employee, unless required by law. EAP records are separate from the employee’s
    personnel and medical file.
  8. Participants of the EAP are not perceived to be a “qualified individual with a disability” as defined by the
    Americans with Disability Act Amendments Act (ADA, ADAAA).
  9. Employees referred to and participating in the EAP will be expected to meet existing job performance
    standards and work rules. EAP is not a substitute for, nor does it preclude or alter disciplinary action.

 

II. PROCEDURE

 

I. Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Referral Types

Employees may obtain assistance through the Employee Assistance Program in one of the following ways:

  1.  Self-Referral
    Employees having personal problems which can adversely affect job performance are encouraged to
    seek assistance through the EAP via a self-referral. Self-referrals occur at the employee’s own initiative.
    In these cases, all communication between the EAP staff and the employee will be held in the strictest
    confidence, unless the employee requests that others be notified or if disclosure is required by law.
    The voluntary self-referral of an employee to the EAP is not reported to Dayton Public Schools.
  2. Leadership Referral
    Supervisors are to partner with their HR Business Partners to discuss the observations of employees that
    would warrant a leadership referral to the EAP. Human Resources will mandate the leadership referral.
    For Leadership Referrals, supervisors must consider the following parameters:
  • Mediation to resolve conflict
  • Implementation of PIP or disciplinary action
  • Concerns regarding personal or workplace safety

 

Examples of Job Performance Concerns that may warrant a leadership referral:

  1. Decling Job Performance
    1. Erratic performance
    2. Missed deadlines
    3. Decision-making ability impairment
    4. Decreased effectiveness
  2. Attendance Problems
    1. Repeated tardiness
    2. Excessive absenteeism
    3. Excessive Sick Leave
  3. Behavior Changes
    1. Emotional outbursts
    2. Conflicts with fellow co-workers
    3. Overreaction to criticism
    4. Uncharacteristic Anger/Belligerence

 

II. Utilizing EAP Sessions

The Employee Assistance Program offers 5 sessions per issue of assessment, short-term counseling, and
referral services to employees and their household members.

  1. Time away from work for utilization of the EAP should follow the normal channels of approval, unless it is
    due to a Leadership referral, then the initial session can be scheduled during working hours without
    using leave.
  2. Additional sessions will be scheduled utilizing available leave in conjunction with the normal channels of
    approval.

 

III. Employee Assistance Program Cost

The EAP is a benefit to employees paid for by Dayton Public Schools. There is no cost to the employee or their
household members for utilizing the service.

If a referral to an outside individual or agency is in order, the employee would be held responsible for that cost,
either by utilization of their health insurance or by making other arrangements. The EAP representative will
assist the employee in obtaining costs of referral resources and health insurance reimbursement information.
The EAP representative, however, cannot be held accountable for this information.

 

III. OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

The Employee Assistance Program exists to benefit the District, supervisors, and employees and their household
members. Supervisors are encouraged to partner with Human Resources to refer their employees to the EAP. Early
self-referrals allow an employee the opportunity to address their personal problems before they escalate and correct
job deterioration before it becomes a major disciplinary problem.