Employee Testing
"For Department of Transportation (DOT)"
Businesses regulated by the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT) are required to follow its employee drug
testing guidelines. These businesses include trucking, railways, airlines and other
businesses where public safety and transportation is concerned. The rules regarding what
an employer can and can not do are much the same as general employee testing with the
exception of a few additional requirements. To get you started, here are the basics to DOT
testing.
Policies
Pre-Employment: As part of the recruitment and hiring
process many business' require an applicant to pass a drug test before hiring. This is the
most common type of testing done by businesses. If a prospective applicant tests positive
for an illegal drug permitted to be tested, an employer has the right not to hire the
applicant. All safety-sensitive employees (railway engineers, public transportation
drivers, truck drivers, etc.) are required to submit to a drug urine screen before hiring
under current DOT guidelines.
Random Employee Testing: Businesses regulated by the DOT
with over 50 safety-sensitive employees are required to randomly test 50% of their
workforce for the 5 main classes of NIDA-regulated drugs of abuse (opiates, amphetamines,
cocaine, PCP and marijuana) in one year. In addition, these business must randomly test
25% of all employees for alcohol over the course of one year.
DOT-regulated businesses with under 50 safety-sensitive employees may join a consortium
with other DOT businesses for the purpose of fulfilling the drug testing requirements. The
consortium is required to randomly test 50% of the shared workforce for the NIDA 5 class
of drugs and 25% of the workforce for alcohol over the course of one year.
Suspicion: Employers may require an employee to submit to a
drug or alcohol test if there is sufficient suspicion the employee is impaired during
work.
Post-Accident: DOT businesses are required to submit
employees to a drug test immediately following a work-related accident. Specimens for drug
tests must be collected within two hours of an accident.
DOT Requirements
NIDA Drug Profiles: DOT-regulated businesses are
required to test employees for the 5 main classes of NIDA-regulated substances regardless
of the testing policy used. This includes: opiates, amphetamines, cocaine, PCP, marijuana
(THC). In addition, safety-sensitive employees are required to be tested for alcohol
except during Pre-Employment testing. Safety-sensitive employees may be tested for alcohol
using Breath Alcohol Testing (BAT) and/or urinalysis. Blood Alcohol testing is no longer
required. Employers are not permitted to test non-NIDA regulated drugs or take action
based on such results.
NIDA Certified Laboratory: DOT employee urine
specimens must be analyzed by specially approved laboratories which adhere to NIDA's rules
governing laboratory testing.
Chain of Custody: To ensure the accuracy of a
result, a detailed Chain of Custody file must be maintained detailing the progress of an
employee's sample through the entire collection, testing and reporting process. This
includes initials/signatures from employee to specimen collector to lab courier and all
laboratory personnel receiving the specimen for screening and confirmation testing as well
as reporting back to the employer. Failure to produce documentation may make an employee
drug screen legally invalid.
Record Keeping: All DOT employee testing records
must be maintained in the event that disciplinarian action is warranted. All testing
information is considered confidential to protect the employee, but employers are required
to file regular Management Information System (MIS) reports with the DOT regarding testing
performed on their current workforce.
Approved Methodologies
Forensic Urinalysis: When conducting drug
testing on safety-sensitive employees, urine specimens must be screened in a forensic lab
by pre-approved methodology. This includes: Fluorescence Polarization Immunoassay (FPIA), Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay (EMIT)
and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). All screened
positives must be confirmed via GC/MS before a result is considered legally valid.
Breath Alcohol Testing: Safety-sensitive
employees are required to submit to a Breath Alcohol Test (BAT).
Similar to a breathalyzer, BAT testing must be performed by one of three approved
methodologies and administered by a certified BAT technician.
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