© 2013 UPMC All Rights Reserved

UPMC

POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL

POLICY: HS-HR0732 *

INDEX TITLE: Human Resources

SUBJECT: Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

DATE: November 8, 2013

I. POLICY/PURPOSE/SCOPE

It is the policy of UPMC to provide confidential assistance to all United States based staff

members of covered business units and their family members who may be faced with the

challenges of personal problems including marital issues, emotional concerns, family or

child problems, as well as alcohol or drug problems. The EAP provides confidential,

professional assessment, counseling, consultation, and referral for any personal problem

that could affect or is affecting job performance.

Links to policies referenced within this policy can be found in Section VIII.

II. ELIGIBILITY

All full time, flex full time, regular part-time, limited part-time and job share staff

members of UPMC and their family members are eligible for EAP services. For

purposes of this policy, household members include: immediate family, children up to the

age of 26, stepchildren, adopted children, domestic partners and extended family

members living in the home.

For purposes of this policy, service is defined as accessing EAP telephone and/or in-

person services individually or with other eligible staff and/or family members.

Coverage may continue for 30 days after termination of employment.

III. CONFIDENTIALITY

The EAP is strictly confidential within the limits of state and federal law. Neither written

records nor oral reports on the content of counseling sessions are released outside the

EAP except as required by law or court order, or with the staff member’s written

permission. Instances in which reporting outside the EAP may be required by law

include situations of suspected child abuse or neglect, suicidal or homicidal threats, or

other threats to public safety.

IV. CORRECTIVE ACTION

Nothing in this policy shall limit UPMC’s right to take corrective action or discharge of a

staff member.

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V. EAP INFORMATION

LifeSolutions, a part of Community Care Behavioral Health, provides EAP services to all

UPMC business units. Access to LifeSolutions is through the LifeSolutions National

Service Center at (800) 647-3327. LifeSolutions staff is on-call 24 hours a day, seven

days a week for emergencies.

Staff members choosing to use the EAP during regular work hours are encouraged to use

Paid Time Off (PTO) as they would for medical or dental appointments. The staff

member’s supervisor has the discretion, however, to allow the staff member to use the

EAP during work hours, particularly with Supervisor or Mandatory Referrals.

EAP counselors are available to meet with staff or family members to assess a problem or

decide in what other ways the EAP sessions can be used. Some staff members may only

want consultation and information, while others may want to resolve problems through

the EAP’s brief counseling (up to 6 sessions). Still others may want or need a referral to

a specialist within the community. Telephone counseling sessions may also be offered if

this type of service is most convenient and appropriate given the presenting issue of the

employee or family member.

In cases where there are indications a staff member is in need of medical evaluation for

further problem assessment, the EAP will refer staff members on mandatory referrals to

Employee Health and all other referrals to their Primary Care Physician (PCP) for this

evaluation and possible referral for follow-up.

EAP counselors will make every effort to coordinate referrals to other providers for on-

going treatment with the staff member’s health insurance coverage, as well as with

his/her ability to pay.

EAP sessions have been pre-paid by UPMC and therefore there is no charge for staff or

family members to use the service.

VI. EAP REFERRALS

A. Self-Referral

Staff and family members are encouraged to seek services on their own as early as

possible for personal concerns. The majority of EAP users are self-referred by

making their own appointment, thus allowing for complete privacy. Self-

referrals do not involve any communication by the EAP to co-workers or

supervisors.

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B. Recommendations by Others to the EAP

1. A supervisor or coworker, who is aware that a staff member is dealing

with a personal issue, may encourage the staff member to seek assistance

through the EAP. In these cases, the staff member will make his/her own

appointment. Supervisors may consult with an EAP counselor regarding

their concerns about the staff member, although the EAP staff are not

permitted to discuss the employee’s issues with the supervisor without a

release of information signed by the employee.

2. A brief check-in with the EAP is recommended by the supervisor when a

staff member demonstrates risky behavior or is involved in a human

error(s) that could or does compromise patient safety. If a serious patient

event occurs, a formal supervisory referral is strongly recommended,

regardless of whether corrective action was administered to the staff

member.

C. Formal Supervisory Referral

Supervisors are strongly encouraged to consider whether a supervisory referral to

the EAP is appropriate at the beginning level of job performance decline or at any

point in the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) or in the corrective action

process. The formal supervisory referral particularly is recommended when

administering corrective action to staff members who demonstrate careless

behavior by making an unsafe choice that could or does compromise patient

safety.

The supervisor should confer with Human resources to determine the appropriate

level of corrective action. Refer to UPMC Policy, HS-HR0704, Corrective

Action and Discharge.

The supervisor also needs to contact the EAP prior to referring the employee to

the EAP, to provide relevant job-performance information.

NOTE: the staff member may accept or refuse participation in the EAP under

this type of referral. The corrective action process will continue based on job

performance, attendance, or conduct, regardless of EAP attendance or rejection of

the EAP offer.

With a signed release of information, the EAP will share the following with the

supervisor:

1. Attendance at EAP appointments

2. Agreement to follow the recommended plan

3. Decision not to participate in EAP services

4. Ongoing compliance with treatment recommendations.

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D. Mandatory Referral and Fitness for Duty

A Mandatory Referral is made when there is a serious incident or a problem

affecting safety and/or job performance. These circumstances include threats to

the safety of the employee, threats to other employees or threats to the safety of

the workplace related to the employee’s behavior, conduct, actions, verbal threats

or bizarre behavior.

Also, a Mandatory Referral is made when there is a fitness for duty issue as

defined by the Fitness for Duty Policy (HS-HR0721). In these cases, the staff

member is suspended pending investigation under the provision of the Fitness for

Duty Policy. There may be serious situations where employment within UPMC is

contingent on a staff member entering the EAP for assistance.

A staff member given a mandatory referral to the EAP who does not call for an

appointment and/or show up for an appointment and/or follow the EAP

recommendations will be considered suspended pending investigation or may be

discharged.

The EAP will notify the supervisor if the staff member did not make or keep the

appointment within the specific time period. No other information will be

provided without a signed release of information.

For Fitness for Duty, when a staff member is on a Last Chance Agreement, by

signing the Agreement, he/she is authorizing the EAP to tell the employer: (a) if

he/she has kept appointment, (b) if he/she is compliant with any course of

treatment recommended by the EAP and (c) if the treatment will require time off

from work. The EAP will report compliance with treatment recommendation to

Human Resources.

Consistent with Pennsylvania law, there may be situations in which EAP staff will

need to release information without the consent of the participating staff person.

Such situations may include, but not be limited to: child abuse reporting or

situations in which there is a duty to warn a third party. Except in an emergency

situation, consultation with the UPMC Corporate Legal Department is

recommended prior to releasing information in these situations.

VII. OTHER EAP SERVICES

EAP staff are available for other support services, including:

1. WorkLife Services: Personalized searches and referrals for child and eldercare,

legal issues, financial matters, daily living concerns. On-line resources including

Live Connect to a WorkLife specialist by instant messaging, self-search locators,

monthly webinars and a resource library with thousands of articles, tools and

links.

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2. Critical Incident Stress Management Services including manager/leader

consultation and support regarding incident management and/or, on-site group

support for a destabilizing workplace trauma event/situation (e.g., sudden death

of a staff member, reductions-in-force, natural disasters) or serious patient event.

3. Manager/supervisor training to review EAP services, action steps to this policy,

and the use of performance-based supervision methodology.

4. Supervisor consultation by telephone or in person to review job performance-

based referrals and support effective management of employee relationship issues

at work.

5. On-site EAP orientation, meeting participation and presence at other venues to

promote understanding of the EAP.

6. Participation in benefits fairs, wellness fairs and special events, such as Nurses

Week, which support awareness of EAP services and integration with UPMC

employee programs and services.

VIII. POLICIES REFERENCED WITHIN THIS POLICY

HS-HR0720 Paid Time Off (PTO)

HS-HR0704 Corrective Action and Discharge

HS-HR0721 Fitness for Duty Policy

SIGNED: Gregory K. Peaslee

Senior Vice President, UPMC and Chief Human Resources and

Administrative Services Officer

ORIGINAL: April 18, 2002

APPROVALS:

Policy Review Subcommittee: October 10, 2013

Executive Staff: November 8, 2013

PRECEDE: December 7, 2013

SPONSOR: Senior Vice President, UPMC and Chief Human Resources and Administrative

Services Officer

* With respect to UPMC business units described in the Scope section, this policy is intended to replace individual

business unit policies covering the same subject matter. In-Scope business unit policies covering the same subject matter

should be pulled from all manuals.