6.1a ERMUSR 08-08-2023______________________________________________________________________________
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UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO:
ERMU Commission
FROM:
Mark Hanson – General Manager
MEETING DATE:
August 8, 2023
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
6.1a
SUBJECT:
Staff Update
ACTION REQUESTED:
None
DISCUSSION:
• The administrations director, finance manager, and I attended American Public Power
Association’s Cost of Service and Key Financial Targets webinar last Tuesday. It was an
excellent session that provided both reassurance on things we’re doing right now and some
ideas to consider on ways to improve our rate structure down the road once Advanced
Metering Infrastructure is fully implemented. In the near term, we’ve reached out to our
rate consultant, Dave Berg, to review/refresh our current cost of service study.
• Last month the electric superintendent, operations director, and I attended Minnesota
Municipal Utilities Association’s (MMUA) Disaster Preparedness Conference in St. Cloud.
Several issues regarding local and out-of-state mutual aid efforts were reviewed to identify
ways to improve current procedures.
• Devin Ruprecht, one of our two locators, has provided notice of his resignation. His last day
will be Friday, August 11. He is pursuing a great opportunity at another utility. Devin has
been with us for 6+ years and has made countless contributions to the community and
ERMU. We wish him well in his new adventure. The open locator position was posted
Tuesday, August 1, both internally and externally.
• Effective August 1, 2023, Minnesota became the 23rd state in the nation to legalize
cannabis use for people 21 and older. Subject to limits, Minnesotans can now possess, use,
and grow cannabis for their own consumption. Megan Zachman, Human Resources, drafted
the attached synopsis of the impacts to ERMU and met with staff to share the information
and answer any questions.
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Minnesota’s Legalization of Cannabis: Impacts to ERMU
Effective August 1, 2023, Minnesota became the 23rd state in the nation to legalize cannabis
use for people 21 and older. Subject to limits, Minnesotans can now possess, use, and grow
cannabis for their own consumption. With cannabis now a lawful consumable product, human
resources communicated to all employees that ERMU prohibits the use, possession, and
impairment of cannabis while at work or operating employer vehicles, equipment, and
machinery. Additional expectations related to positions were also discussed.
• DOT regulated. Employees required to hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL), as a
condition of employment, are regulated by federal law, and those regulations are
supervised by the Federal Department of Transportation (DOT). Federal law preempts
state law related to cannabinoid use; the DOT has made its position clear, they do not
authorize the use of Schedule I drugs, including marijuana, for any reason. As a result,
ERMU will continue to follow its drug-testing procedures for CDL holders and may
enforce prohibitions against any use of cannabinoids, regardless of state law
protections.
• Safety Sensitive. Those who have a job, including any supervisory or management
position, in which an impairment caused by drug or alcohol usage would threaten the
health or safety of any person (Minn. Stat. § 181.950, subd. 13.). ERMU will continue to
follow its drug-testing procedures for safety sensitive employees and may enforce
prohibitions against any use of cannabinoids, regardless of state law protections.
• Non-DOT / Non-Safety Sensitive Employees. Employees are able to use cannabis
products while they are off duty, if they are not impaired at work. The new law prohibits
an employer from refusing to hire an applicant simply because of a positive cannabis
drug test (excluding positions excepted from cannabis testing prohibitions). Therefore,
ERMU will remove cannabinoids from the pre-employment drug testing panel for these
employees. Non-DOT / Non-Safety Sensitive employees will still be subject to a drug
testing panel that includes cannabinoids for reasonable suspicion drug testing.
ERMU is working with MMUA to schedule training for supervisors about the behavioral signs
and symptoms of drug and cannabis use as well as how to document observations of potential
impairment so should a situation occur in the workplace, supervisors can effectively respond
and document what they observed leading to the situation.
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