Workplace Health & Safety

Buyer Beware: Buying Medications Onlinee

The Food and Drug Administration continually warns the public about the possible dangers of buying medications online. Knowing how to make purchases safely is key.

Buying medicine online can be safe and convenient. It also can put your health and even your life at risk if you buy from a fraudulent Internet seller.

Even so, with prescription drug prices soaring, consumers who see potential savings from online suppliers can be tempted to make a deal.

“My advice is: Take your time and be very careful,” says Christopher C. Kelly, a spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Rockville, Md. “Legitimate online sellers do exist and can be recognized by their business practices and their credentials. However, buying from a fraudulent seller—no matter how good the price—can be dangerous if you receive drugs that contain toxic substances or incorrect doses.”

The FDA offers the following information to help you purchase medications online with confidence.

• Some Web sites sell counterfeit drugs. Although counterfeit drugs may look exactly like legitimate FDA-approved drugs, they’re of unknown quality and safety.

Fake drugs can be dangerous because they could:

• Be made in unsafe conditions
• Be contaminated
• Contain the wrong active ingredient, no active ingredients, or too much or too little of an active ingredient to treat the condition

For example, the FDA determined some consumers who placed Internet orders for Ambien, Xanax, Lexapro, and Ativan received products that contained haloperidol, a powerful antipsychotic drug.

• Illegitimate sellers often don’t provide the appropriate information required to be dispensed with a drug.

For example, sellers from outside the U.S. often don’t follow U.S. standards in labeling drugs for safe and effective use, so consumers may not get proper information about dangerous interactions, how to take a drug, or what to do if certain side effects occur.

• Fraudulent sites often sell unapproved drugs or approved drugs without following required safeguards put in place to protect consumers.
• Illegitimate sellers don’t know your medical history, drug allergies, or drug interactions and could supply you with a drug that could cause a dangerous or fatal interaction.
• Dishonest Web sellers may not protect your personal information, including credit card details.

The Real Deal
So what’s a consumer to do?

“Because fraudulent sellers can have sophisticated Web sites that look legitimate, consumers must take the time to carefully investigate any online drug provider before placing an order,” Kelly advises.

According to the FDA, legitimate drug Web sites should:

• Have a Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites Seal (VIPPS). This indicates the site complies with state and federal laws and criteria of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. VIPPS-approved Web sites are listed at www.vipps.info.
• Be licensed by the state board of pharmacy where the Web site operates. To determine if this is the case, visit www.nabp.info.
• Be located in the United States.
• Have a licensed pharmacist available to answer questions.
• Have rigorous privacy and security policies.
• Require a prescription from your doctor.

“Protecting your health requires knowledge and vigilance,” says Kelly. “Take a hard look at any online medication site before placing an order.”

Source: VOD

Policy Spotlight

The Administrative/Staff Handbook can be found here or on the "V" drive at: V:\PUBLIC\HR\HANDBOOK

Overtime and other Timesheet Policies

Overtime Rules effective January 1, 2000

CLU must pay time and a half to nonexempt
employees who work:

Over 8 hours of work in a workday;
Over 40 hours in a workweek;
The first 8 hours of work on a 7 th consecutive day in any workweek......

CLU must pay double time to nonexempt
employees who work:
Over 12 hours in a workday;
Over 8 hours of work on a 7 th consecutive day in any workweek.

Overtime compensation earned in a particular workweek is to be paid on the regular payday for
the period in which such workweek ends. Overtime is calculated in accordance with the above
schedule and is based on actual hours worked. (Holidays and sick leave are excluded from
overtime earnings.)

Makeup
Time:

Supervisors may approve, at their option, a written request of an employee to make up lost
work at straight time, if:

The makeup
work occurs in the same workweek in which work time was lost;

The work time was missed because of the employee’s personal obligations;

The makeup
work does not cause the employee to exceed 11 hours of work in one day or 40
hours in one workweek.

*An employee must submit a signed, written request each time a request is made to make up
work time. (See sample form on the Human Resources Website at
www.callutheran.edu/hr . These forms will be available from your Director, Dean,
or Human Resources Office effective January 1, 2000.)

CLU is prohibited from soliciting any employee to make up time within the same week.

Meal Periods:

If an employee works more 5 hours, the employer must provide a meal period of not less than
30 minutes.

If the work period is not more than 6 hours, it may be waived by mutual consent of CLU and
the employee.

Employees working more than 6 hours can no longer waive the meal period.

If an employee’s work period is no more than 10 hours, a second 30minute
meal period is
required.

Watch out for employees working overtime.
If the total amount worked is less than 12 hours, the second meal period may be waived by
mutual consent of the supervisor and employee, but only if the first period was not waived.

Employees working more than 12 hours cannot waive the second meal period.

Completion of Time Sheets:

Nonexempt employees are required to submit a completed time sheet approved by their
supervisors, at the end of every pay period in accordance with the published schedule.