Drug & Alcohol Screening

The Department of Transportation (DOT) provides the regulatory framework that employers who operate under a particular DOT agency must adhere to, and Core Diagnostics is helping companies maintain DOT drug testing compliance.

The following situations require a DOT drug test:

Pre-Employment
A pre-employment drug test is required for DOT positions and will occur during the hiring process and before an employee begins working.

Random Testing
The DOT requires quarterly random selections where all employees have an equal opportunity to get selected under the program.

Reasonable Cause
Under DOT regulations, employers are required to be trained to detect employees who may be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol while on the job.

Post-Accident Testing
When an employee is involved in an accident, regardless if they are the cause or not, they must submit to a drug and alcohol test.

Return-to-Duty (RTD)
If an employee fails a drug or alcohol test, they must undergo return-to-duty testing before returning to their DOT job responsibilities. It is under direct supervision and must be unannounced for the first 12 months.

Follow-Up Testing
This precedes return-to-duty testing and must be managed by a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) for up to 5 years. This is in addition to the standard DOT drug testing policies and cannot be substituted for other tests.

What is Non-DOT Testing

A Non-DOT drug test is a drug test given to a worker in an industry that’s not regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

There are two worlds when it comes to drug testing. And the difference is how testing is regulated.

While DOT drug tests are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Non-DOT drug tests are dictated by each individual employer. The employer decides how to manage and run their drug testing program based on their needs.

Hair Follicle DrugTesting may be used over other types of drug tests because of its ability to show a longer history of drug exposure. This type of test may be helpful when testing for chronic drug use or misuse, understanding long-term patterns of use, and confirming periods of abstinence. Hair follicle drug testing may be used in several ways:

• Employment testing: Employers may require drug testing in many situations, including when screening job applicants, for periodic or random detection of drug use by employees, or after a workplace accident. Although urine drug tests are the most common method of detecting drug use in workplaces, hair follicle drug testing may be used by some employers.
• Forensic and legal testing: Hair samples may be collected during criminal investigations to evaluate for drug use or misuse in drug-facilitated crimes and child protection cases.
• Medical testing: Although doctors rarely analyze a hair sample to evaluate a person’s health, there are situations in which a hair test can provide doctors with helpful information. For example, hair testing can assist in post-mortem evaluations of long-term drug use or misuse.
• Drug rehabilitation programs: Hair testing may be used in addiction medicine to detect chronic drug use and misuse, as well as understand periods of abstinence.

What does the test measure?

• 5 Panel Hair Follicle Test: Tests for Amphetamines/methamphetamine, cocaine, opiates, PCP (phencyclidine), marijuana, opiates expanded oxycodone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, hydromorphone 
• 10 Panel Hair Follicle Test: Tests for Amphetamines/methamphetamine,Cocaine, Opiates and expanded prescription opiates, PCP (phencyclidine), Marijuana, Benzodiazepines, Barbiturates, Methadone, Propoxyphene, and Oxycodone

How long can drugs be detected?

The window of detection varies based on the amount of hair tested. Although longer samples of hair can be tested for drug exposure over a longer period of time, a standard sample of hair from the scalp is 1.5 inches and provides information about approximately 90 days of past drug exposure. A hair sample taken from a different part of the body where hair grows more slowly may have a detection window of up to 12 months.

The alcohol testing rules are intended to protect the safety of the general public by ensuring that workers in safety-sensitive positions in the transportation industries do not misuse alcohol.

Who is covered by these rules?

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Drivers holding a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) who:

• drive vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of over 26,001 pounds; or
• drive placarded vehicles under DOT hazardous material regulations; or
• drive vehicles designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.

Federal Aviation Administration

Flight crew, attendants and instructors, air traffic controllers, aircraft dispatchers, maintenance, screening and ground security coordinator personnel.

Federal Transit Authority

Vehicle operators, controllers, mechanics, and armed security personnel.

Research and Special Projects Agency (Pipeline)

Operations, maintenance and emergency response personnel.

What type of alcohol use is prohibited?

Covered employees are prohibited from performing safety-sensitive functions, such as driving a commercial motor vehicle, if any of the following conditions exist:

Alcohol Concentration

Employees must not report for duty to perform safety-sensitive functions while having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.04% or greater.

Alcohol Possession

No employee shall be on duty or operate a commercial motor vehicle while the employee possesses alcohol, unless the alcohol is manifested and transported as part of a shipment.

On-Duty Use

No employee shall use alcohol while performing safety-sensitive functions.

Pre-Duty Use

Employees shall not perform safety-sensitive functions within four hours after using alcohol.

Use Following an Accident

Employees shall not use alcohol for eight hours following a reportable accident, or until he/she undergoes a post-accident alcohol test, whichever occurs first.

What are the consequences of alcohol misuse?

The DOT has established 0.02% BAC as the level which is positive for covered employees.  Covered employees who engage in prohibited alcohol use must be immediately removed from safety-sensitive functions.  Employees who test positive at 0.04% BAC or higher are subject to follow-up alcohol tests.

What types of alcohol tests are required?

Employees covered by the DOT-mandated alcohol testing rules will be subject to the following types of tests:

• Random Testing;
• Post-Accident Testing;
• Reasonable Suspicion Testing;
• Return-to-Duty Testing after a positive test; and/or,
• Follow-up Testing.

Random Testing

Employees subject to random alcohol testing shall be selected using a method that is scientifically valid.  The selection process must ensure that each covered employee has an equal chance of being tested each time selections are made.  The current random testing rate is a minimum of 25% of the employees in the selection pool.

Post-Accident Testing

Covered employees are subject to post-accident testing if they are in an accident involving:

• the loss of human life;
• citation of the driver under state or local law for a moving traffic violation arising from the accident; and
• persons involved in the accident are injured and as a result of the injury must receive medical treatment away from the scene of the accident; or
• when one or more motor vehicles, incurring disabling damage as a result of the accident, must be transported away from the scene by a tow truck or other vehicle.

Reasonable Suspicion Testing

An employer must require a covered employee to submit to reasonable suspicion testing if the employer has reasonable suspicion to believe that the employee violated the provisions of the DOT rules. The employer’s determination must be based on specific, explainable observations concerning the employee’s appearance, behavior, speech, or body odors.  

Return-To-Duty Testing

Employees who tested positive on a breath alcohol test must undergo a return-to-duty alcohol test prior to returning to perform safety-sensitive job functions.  The result of the alcohol test must be lower that 0.02% BAC.

Follow-up Testing

Employees who test positive for alcohol at 0.04% BAC or higher are subject to unannounced Follow-up testing.