Saturday, August 21, 2021 @ 10am
Download the Show Audio Here
Show Topic:
At a time in which alcohol and drug abuse is on the rise, are you or someone in your company in a position to identify when an employee is under the influence of an impairing substance?
Whether your organization has a drug testing policy, has federal contracts, has employees driving vehicles or operating heavy equipment, each may play a role in your legal obligations, but what about your general obligations to keep your work environment—and the people in your work environment—safe.
On this episode of HR Power Hour, join Tawny as she talks to Scot Mattox, Esq. CEO of Dirigo Safety, LLC about identifying impairment in the workplace and the services that Dirigo Safety, LLC offers to companies to help educate leaders as to best practices related to safety and health concerning drugs and alcohol in the workplace.
From identifying signs and symptoms of alcohol and drug overdoses and impairment, appropriate elements to include in your impairment policies, and understanding the ever changing and evolving “lingo” about drugs, this is a can’t miss episode.
About The Guest:
Scot Mattox retired in September 2013 as a Sergeant with the Portland Police Department after 26 years in law enforcement. During his career, he held a number of positions within the police department including Patrol Sergeant, Directed Patrol and Tactical Enforcement Sergeant, and Internal Affairs Investigator.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminology; a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management; a Juris Doctor from the University of Maine School of Law and is currently a member in good standing of the Maine Bar as well as an Adjunct Instructor in Criminology, Juvenile Justice, and Law Enforcement Ethics for St. Joseph’s College of Maine. He is formally a Maine licensed Paramedic and an Adjunct Instructor in Police Use of Force and Police Procedure at Southern Maine Community College.
After leaving Portland PD, Mr. Mattox worked as a Hearings Examiner for the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles for a year before taking a position as Maine’s first Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP) contracted through a grant from the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety (MeBHS). Currently, Mr. Mattox is the owner and CEO of Dirigo Safety, LLC where he continues TSRP contract work for MeBHS; as well as overseeing Dirigo Safety’s contract work with the Maine Center for Disease Control’s for Administrative Oversight of the Enforcement of Underage Drinking Laws grant. He is also a reserve officer for Falmouth, Maine PD.
In addition to the grant work above, Dirigo Safety, LLC is the primary vendor for the Maine Criminal Justice Academy as Lesson Plan Writers for the Basic Law Enforcement Training Program and the Administration of the Maine Law Enforcement Accreditation Program for the Maine Chiefs of Police. Dirigo also conducts law enforcement in-service training all over Maine and several New England States. In 2020, Mr. Mattox was a contributing author for two publications by the National Traffic Law Center: Cannabis Impairment Detection Workshop Handbook; and the 2020 update of the Cops in Courttraining class curriculum.
Since 2017, DirigoSafety has held more than 100 classes and trained over 1,000 police officers in various law enforcement applications including The Fourth Amendment, Vehicle Operation Liability, Conducting Background Investigations, and Responding to Major Crimes and Homicides. Dirigo’s Mixed (Cannabis/Alcohol) Impairment Detection Lab (where officers are trained to detect cannabis and alcohol impairment using volunteers who have consumed either substance) is the first of its kind in the United States. Dirigo Safety also teaches workplace safety classes including Active Shooter Awareness; Workplace De-escalation; and Drug Impairment in the Workplace.
