If your business has employees that fall into the following categories, you are mandated to comply with Department of Transportation regulations. Remember it could be a large corporation or a one-person operation but if you perform this type of function you fall within these regulations.
 

INDUSTRY	SAFETY- SENSITIVE POSITIONS
Commercial Motor Carriers (FHWA)	Anyone holding a Commercial Driver’s License
Aviation (FAA)	Flight crew, attendants, instructors, air traffic controllers at facilities not operated by the FAA or under contract to the U.S. military; aircraft dispatchers; aircraft maintenance or preventative maintenance personnel; ground security coordinators and aviation screeners.
Maritime (USCG)	Crewmembers operating a commercial vessel.
Mass Transit (FTA)	Vehicle operators, controllers, mechanics and armed security personnel.
Pipeline (RSPA)	Operations, maintenance & emergency response personnel.
Railroad	Hours of Service Act employees: engine, train & signal services, dispatchers, and operators.

 

Employer Responsibility

Employers are responsible to provide detailed information to all of their employees regarding these rules and regulations, company policy, testing requirements, and alcohol and other drug abuse referral resources.

All supervisors must attend at least one hour of training on the signs and symptoms of drug abuse.

Additionally, for the railroad industry, supervisors must have a minimum of three hours of training on the signs and symptoms of alcohol and drug abuse. Transit and maritime employees must have at least one hour of training on the dangers of controlled substances.

Employers must have a Drug Free Workplace Program, which includes the following modes of testing:

• Pre-Employment
• Post-Accident
• Reasonable Suspicion
• Random
• Return-to-Duty and Follow-Up

The employer is not required to pay for treatment unless otherwise stipulated within their policy or labor/management agreements. The employer is not required to reinstate the employee in his/her safety-sensitive position.
 
 

Drug Testing

Department of Transportation (DOT) drug testing rules require that employers test for cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), amphetamines, opiates, and marijuana (THC). Employers may ask for approval to include alcohol in this screening. Legally prescribed drugs such as barbiturates, amphetamines, morphine, etc. may also be prohibited depending upon the employee’s position and the regulations involved.

There are many rules surrounding the collection and processing of the specimen. In general, each employer is responsible for having one or more collection sites that have the necessary trained personnel, materials, equipment, facilities and supervision to handle the specimen. The collection of the specimen may be required to be a single or a split sample. Employers should check the actual regulations to see where your particular business fits in.

After the test is performed any positive test results will go through a confirmation test process. If the second test results are also positive then a Medical Review Officer (MRO), a physician specializing in this area, will contact the specimen donor and determine if there could have been any legitimate reason for the test results being positive such as a prescription. If the MRO determines that a legitimate reason does exist, the results will be reported to the employer as being negative. If there is no such reason then the results will be reported as positive. With the change in the cutoff levels for each substance poppy seeds no longer create a problem.

Initial Test Cut off Levels (ng/ml)
 

Marijuana metabolites	50
Cocaine metabolites	300
Opiate metabolites	2,000
Phencyclidine	25
Amphetamines	1,000

If the MRO is unable to reach the employee then s/he may go through the employers’ designated management official. If the management official can not reach the employee after 14 days, the positive test result will be submitted to the employer. If the management official has been able to reach the employee and the employee refuses to contact the MRO then after 5 days the positive test result will be submitted to the employer.

A laboratory certified by the Department of Health and Human Services must perform all tests.
 
 

Alcohol

There are many rules that each employer should be aware of in this area. What follows is only a brief synopsis and should not be considered as the entire scope of these regulations.

Employers are responsible for having access to sites that have the necessary trained personnel – including Breath Alcohol Technicians (BAT), materials, equipment, facilities and supervision to handle the alcohol testing process. If the testing must occur outdoors such as in the case of a vehicle accident then the BAT shall make every effort to create visual privacy.

A reading of .02 or greater will result in the need for another test to confirm the initial reading. The employee will be instructed not to eat or drink or put any object in his or her mouth prior to the confirmation test. This protects the employee since once something enters the mouth accumulation of "mouth alcohol" develops and may contribute to an artificially high reading on the test. The second test will be performed between 15 and 30 minutes after the initial test.

If this reading is confirmed the employee will immediately be relieved of any safety sensitive function. The BAT will provide test results to the employer in a confidential manner. Drivers having a reading of between .02 and .04 will be relieved from duty for 24 hours. Drivers who have a reading of .04 and above can not return to duty until they have been evaluated by a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) and complied with treatment recommendations.

The employer or his/her agent shall maintain records for two years. Records are to be considered confidential information unless otherwise stipulated. Information will be provided to the following agencies and individuals either by request or by mandate:

• Any employee may have access to their information upon written request.
• A decision-maker in a lawsuit, grievance or other proceeding, providing that the proceeding was initiated by the employee.
• The National Transportation Safety Board as part of an accident investigation.
• The Secretary of Transportation or designee.

Random Drug and Alcohol Testing

Many employers fall within one or more of the DOT regulations. These employers are mandated to random test at the following rates.
 
 

1999 RANDOM TESTING RATES
 

DOT Operating Administration	Random Drug Testing Rate	Random Alcohol Testing Rate
Federal Highway Administration	50%	10%
Federal Aviation Administration	25%	10%
Federal Railroad Administration	25%	25%
Federal Transit Administration	50%	10%
Research and Special Programs Administration	25%	Not Applicable
United States Coast Guard	50%	Not Applicable

Please note these rates may increase depending on the number of violations. Check the particular regulations for specific rates.
 
 

Return-to-duty and Follow-up Tests

A follow-up test is administered when an employee returns to performing safety sensitive functions. Follow-up tests are to be unannounced and a minimum of six tests must be conducted during the first year after the employee returns to work. Follow-up testing may be extended for up to five years following the return to duty.
 
 

Why Comply

Employers will be audited by various agencies to ensure compliance. Selected employers may be asked to provide reports. All employers must maintain records of their Drug Free Workplace Program and testing results.

Where to find out more
 

DOT Operating Administration

Federal Highway Administration (202) 366-4009 www.fhwa.dot.gov/omc/omchome.html

Federal Aviation Administration (202) 267-8442 http://www.faa.gov/avr/aamhome2.htm

Federal Railroad Administration (202) 632-3378

Federal Transit Administration (202) 366-2896

Research and Special Programs Administration (202) 366-6199

United States Coast Guard (202) 267-1430

Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance (202) 366-3784 http://www.dot.gov/ost/dapc

This information is taken from a variety of sources including the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Alcohol and Drug Rules – An Overview, U.S. Department of Transportation An Overview- Alcohol & Drug Rules, Part 40 - Procedures for Transportation, Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance Office, 49 CFR Part 40 Policy Notice, and the 1999 Random Rate Notice.

These sections should not to be considered the entire scope of these federal regulations but only segments of information that may give you an indication of how to proceed in the development of your Drug Free Workplace Program. These regulations are continuously being updated and this information should not be relied upon for the legal requirements of these regulations.