Can you cheat on drug and alcohol tests and get away with it?
Can you cheat on drug and alcohol tests and get away with it?
Part one: How alcohol testing works.
The short answer to that often asked question; “Can you cheat on drug and alcohol tests and get away with it?” is probably not. And it’s especially hard to do it if at all with DOT drug screening or alcohol testing here’s why.
The DOT mandated testing methods that are hard to beat and made it even harder over the years.
Most dot alcohol tests are breath alcohol testing using evidential breath testing equipment. Testing with non evidential breath testing devices and saliva alcohol testing are also allowed by the regulations much less used because they are only allowed for initial screening but not for confirmation testing if an initial screen is a positive requiring a confirmation test.
There are also time requirements so even if you tested using screening devices you’ll still need to have evidential breath testing equipment nearby in order to stay in compliance if a positive initial screen need a confirmation test now.
In general there are many reliable ways that I know of to be any type of alcohol testing. They all look for the presence of alcohol in your system and measure it as a blood/alcohol concentration (BAC) in your blood.
- Saliva alcohol testing looks at alcohol present in the saliva
- Breath alcohol tests convert breath from your deep lungs where alcohol is releasing into your lungs where the blood and the air you breath come together. That alcohol is converted into energy and that is used to measure the blood/alcohol concentration (BAC) level.
In summary while there are some ways to cheat a drug screen there aren't any ways to cheat an alcohol test that I can think of unless you can substitute someone else’s saliva or breath and not have the alcohol testing tech not notice. Not likely. Alcohol testing techs are required to have very specific DOT approved certified alcohol tech training to follow a strict protocol for conducting tests so I wouldn't count on any gaming the tech strategies unless they were in on it too-again this being real live that’s not likely to happen either.
Service Agents Series: Your Required Medical Review Officer or “MRO”
Your Required Medical Review Officer or “MRO”
This is the third installment in a series about the roles of DOT Service Agents (SAs) the people who help you implement your drug free workplace program.
After an employee participates in a DOT urine drug screen the specimen is sent by the urine collector to and processed by a DOT approved laboratory.
That process generates an initial result that is electronically sent to and reviewed by an Medical Doctors acting in the DOT Service Agent role of Medical Review Officer or “MRO”.
The urine collector also is required to send or electronically transmit the Medical Review Officer copy of the DOT urine collection Control and Custody Form of “CCF” to the MRO.
The MRO’s job is to review the initial result of a drug screen and determine several things:
- Is the result properly documented?
- Have they (the MRO’s office) received their copy (physical or electronic) of the drug screen form yet?
- Does the (the MRO) require additional information to determine the final result of a drug screen and report it.
- Is the test a positive drug screen result requiring an interview with the urine donor (employee that got tested)?
- Make contact with the donor (employee that got tested) when required and contact the employer when required.
- Make the final determination of the result
- Report the result of the drug screen to the donor’s employer either directly or through their (the donor’s employer) service agent authorized to do so.
- Determining and reporting negative DOT drug screen results
Most of the time results are negative and don't require any further action on the part of the MRO’s office so they report them out usually within 24 of receiving the initial results. Most MRO’s offer multiple options for getting a result including secure fax, email, and secure web portal access.
Determining and reporting positive DOT drug screen results
In the event of a positive result depending on how long it takes the MRO to get in touch with a donor (if the MRO needs to speak to them) before determining and reporting a result. Sometimes positive results can take a day or two longer to report.
The DOT requires results be processed and reported in a timely way so generally results are available between 24 to 48 hours after the lab receives the urine sample.
Delays in reporting results
MROs aren't allowed to report a DOT urine drug screen result until they have their copy and are able to determine it was filled out properly.
In some cases when the collection site does not send the MRO copy of the testing form to the MRO, results can end up being delayed until they receive it.
Mydrugtestingprogram.com sets all our clients up with an MRO that offers 24/7 online access to results and records through a secured system as well as 24/7 toll free live customer service.
Service Agent Series 2: Your DOT approved and certified lab
Your DOT approved and certified lab
The DOT regulations require that motor carriers required to have a drug free workplace program work with a laboratory certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMSHA).
How do you get set up with an approved lab?
Most motor carriers work with a Third Party Administrators TPA who handles getting you set up with an certified clinical lab and a Medical Review Officer (MRO) (we cover MROs in another blog post).
The lab then has special DOT drug testing collection forms called “control and custody” (CCF) forms customized for you and printed and then sent to you. These are the forms that your driver takes with whenever having any required drug testing done. The collection site staff fills the form out and packages it up with special DOT approved specimen collection kits that are then shipped to the lab for processing.
What the laboratory does:
The Laboratory receives the packaged up urine specimen and the lab copy of the Control and Custody Form filled out during the collection. The Lab follows strict federal guidelines for processing the specimen and testing it for controlled substances.
What drugs does the lab test for and how
For DOT testing the lab runs what’s called a NIDA 5 panel drug screen that tests for the presence of the drug itself or the metabolites that the body produces when the drug is in it’s system.
Here are the five classes of drugs that are tested for:
- Marijuana
- Cocaine
- Opiates – opium and codeine derivatives
- Amphetamines and methamphetamines
- Phencyclidine – PCP
When the lab is finished they transmit preliminary results to the Medical Review Officer (MRO) who then reports the final results to the driver’s employer and/or TPA depending on how they’re set up.
Under the DOT regulations labs are required to store (for a period of time) the second untested half of the urine specimen for retesting if an employee wished to contest a result. In those cases, after the notification of the request to retest, the lab will then send the remaining specimen to another certified lab for additional testing.
Generally you will have no direct contact or interaction with the lab pertaining to your account or test results. Mydrugtestingprogram.com handles getting our clients set up with a certified clinical lab and forms and MRO.
What a DOT Urine Drug Screen Collector does
What the DOT Urine Collector does
This is the first in a series of blog posts at mydrugtestingprogram.com where we’ll be discussing the roles of each of the Service Agents (SAs) that help you adminsiter your required DOT drug and alcohol testing program.
Today we’ll be covering the role of the person working at a collection site that takes your employee through the steps to conduct a urine collection for a DOT drug screen.
The DOT requires that urine drug screen collectors “...must receive qualification training...” The collectors must be trained by a “trainer” who meets the qualifications also outlined by the FMCSA regulations.
The collector training includes:
- The steps required to properly conduct a DOT urine collection.
- How to direct an employee in the process.
- How to fill out and transmit the special collection forms called control and custody forms (CCFs).
- How to handle various problems that come up during collection such as when the employee can’t go (or not enough) called a “shy bladder.”
- What to do if an employee attempts to tamper with a urine specimen.
- What “Flaws” or errors in the process are correctable and which aren't.
- How to correct flaws in the collection process.
- What their responsibility is for the privacy of employees being tested.
- The “chain of custody” process to ensuring the security of the specimen
There are also requirements about the physical setting for a DOT urine drug screen collection beginning with cutting off employee access to water in the collection area to make it harder for an employee who might try to tamper with a specimen. They are also trained to not allow employees to wear jackets or outer clothing that could be used to conceal equipment used to substitute urine to cheat on on a drug test.
In the past the DOT regulations were far less demanding in regards to collector training which led to a lot of errors and problems in testing. In 2005 the DOT got much more demanding about requiring collectors to be properly trained and documented as such.
This is one of the reasons mydrugtestingprogram.com generally doesnt recommend motor carriers trying to do any in-house self collections as it requires a lot of training and dramatically increases their liability by taking on the collector role.
There’s a lot to know about the DOT drug screen urine collection process to get it right and a lot of liability risk if it’s not done right so it best left in the hands of those who’ve been properly trained and are paid to take on those responsibilities.
If you would like to know more about it you can check out the DOT web site covering it here: https://www.transportation.gov/odapc/part40/40_33
Mydrugtestingprogram.com helps our clients find and use a local collection site with properly trained urine collectors from their chopice of over 10,000 sites nationwide.
Your DOT Drug Program Service Agents
Your DOT Drug Program Service Agents
Today we’re starting a blog-post series covering the roles of what the DOT/FMCSA call “Service Agents.”
The FMCSA describes Service Agent as “...any person or entity, other than an employee of the motor carrier, used to help implement the DOT/FMCSA drug and alcohol testing regulations.”
When you think of Service Agents (SA) here’s who we’re talking about:
The trained urine collector (at your local collection site) who takes your employees through the approved urine collection process for DOT drug screening.
The alcohol technicians trained to perform DOT approved alcohol screening and confirmation services using Approved Breath Alcohol Testing devices with your employees having alcohol tests.
The laboratory that is responsible for processing your employees’ collected urine specimen according to the federal guidelines required by the DOT.
The doctor who serves as a Medical Review Officer (MRO) reviews results, researches and makes determination about positive results and reports your urine drug screen results to your company.
The substance abuse professional that follows DOT guidelines to work with an employee who has violated the testing regulations or gotten a positive result, or come forward to request help with a related problem and helps them get back to work.
The third-party administrator (TPA) that helps coordinate any number of services for you including random selections, notifications, reports, for individual employers and those with drivers in a consortium pool.
According to the the FMCSA you can hire service agents to help with many different aspects of your DOT regulated drug program but they still hold you 100% accountable for compliance with the regulations.
So obviously it’s crucial you understand the role and responsibilities of the Service Agents you work with, what they do, what you still need to do, and how to work with them.
Mydrugtestingprogram.com is Service Agent-TPA that helps our clients with their DOT drug and alcohol testing programs including setting up with other service agents such as collection sites, lab, and MROs.
Keep watching for the new entries in the Service Agent series helping you get to know what you need to about each.
DOT Cuts Random Drug Testing Amount in Half
DOT Cuts Random Drug Testing Amount in Half
In case you didn't know it, the DOT and the FMSCA has cut the required amount of random drug testing in half.
The required amount of random drug testing was cut in half to only 25%. The change is applicable whether the random pool your company’s employees are in is made up of only your own employees or a consortium pool made up of employees from multiple companies.
This is not the first big cut in DOT random testing requirements
When the DOT Drug Free Workplace regulations came out in 1996 the required random drug testing percentage was 50% of the average number of drivers in the pool and 25% for random alcohol testing. Also drug and alcohol screening were required for pre employment at that time.
But the DOT keeps track of how the testing regulations are working out industry wide and makes adjustments to the requirements based on that research. In one case they eliminated pre-employment alcohol testing and a few years after the regulations came into effect they reduced the amount of random alcohol testing from 25% to 10%.
Why it's great news
This is all great news in many ways as the DOT has seen a reliably low rate of positive results on random drug tests and felt it safe to reduce the amount of random drug testing needed. That also means less money spent on testing for employers and less employee time lost in testing related activities.
If you want to know more about the required testing rates and how much drug and alcohol testing your company is required to do you should check out the blog post for that right here.
How much random testing do you need to do?
Do you have enough random drug and alcohol tests for the year?
As a motor carriers required under federal regulations to have a random drug and alcohol testing program your program must meet the mandated minimum amount of random testing required.
So how much testing is your company or organization required to do?
The answer to that depends on several factors including the type of random pool your drivers are in, whether we’re talking random drug testing or random alcohol testing, and the federally set minimum amounts of testing allowed for each.
Two types of DOT random selection pools:
The first type of random selection pool your drivers may be in is a “Consortium” pool. These are pools run by Consortium/Third Party Administrators (C/TPAs). Consortium pools are typically made up of drivers from multiple companies and the random selections amounts are determined based on the total amount of drivers in the pool from all companies not just yours.
The second type of random selection pool is one that is made up of drivers that are only from your own company. In that type of pool the random selections amounts are determined based only on the amount of drivers in your company alone.
DOT Random drug testing amount requirements
Both types of pools must complete enough random drug tests equal to or greater than 25% of the average number of drivers in the pool and enough random alcohol tests equal to or greater than 10% of the average number of drivers in the pool. If the number of tests required comes out to a fraction then the amount done must be rounded up.
Examples of random selection amounts requirements
So if a pool has an average of 100 drivers in it, then it must complete 25 random drug tests and 10 random alcohol tests during the calendar year. That means if you have your own pool of 100 drivers you must complete 25 random drug tests and 10 random alcohol tests with your own employees.
If your drivers are in a consortium pool (drivers from more than one company) with an average of 100 drivers then the administrator of the pool must ensure that 25 random drug tests and 10 random alcohol tests are completed by the end of the calendar year.
So how many random drug and alcohol tests does your company need to complete when your drivers are in a consortium pool?
If your drivers are in a consortium pool in can vary greatly from year to year. The DOT requires that each time a selection is done every driver in the pool must be eligible to be selected. So it’s possible to have a driver or drivers selected out of a pool multiple times in a calendar year.
There's no guaranteeing or predicting how many times an individual driver will be selected or if they are selected at all. One driver in a pool may miss being selected for a period or a whole year while others are selected once, twice, or even possibly every time in a true random selection system.
If your drivers are in your own pool, then to determine how many random drug and alcohol tests you need to complete you can follow this formula:
How many random drug tests required:
Step 1: Average number of employees in your pool ________
Step 2: Multiply that number X 25% _____________ (rounded up)
This determines the required amount of random drug tests that must be completed by the end of the year.
How many random alcohol tests required:
Step 1: Average number of employees in your pool ________
Step 2: Multiply that number X 10% _____________ (rounded up)
This determines the required amount of random alcohol tests that must be completed by the end of the year.
This is something you should pay close attention to as any failure in the amount competed will be a violation of the rules and could result in fines or even being shut down in some circumstances.
Mydrugtestingprogram.com carefully monitors our DOT compliance consortium pools as well as our clients with their own pools to ensure the proper amount of DOT random testing is completed each year.
Can you skip pre-employment testing?
When can you skip pre-employment testing?
When you hire a new driver for your company or are an owner-operator starting your own DOT drug-free workplace program you’ve got to do pre-employment testing before hitting the road. If you skip it you are at risk for costly fines and might even be shut down depending on the situation.
So does that mean you always have to do a pre-employment test every time a driver is hired? First, you don’t ever need to do pre-employment alcohol testing ever. It’s not required. So don't waste your time and money on it.
So when is pre-employment drug (only) testing required:
- When you as a driver start a business under your own authority.
- When you hire a new driver.
- When a part time driver has not been active in your random pool for 30 days or more.
There are some exceptions that will allow you to skip pre-employment drug testing. You may skip it if a driver (or you as an owner operator)...
were in another DOT complying drug program within 30 days of when they (or you) start in your program and...
were either tested (any required type) within the last six months or...
were in the previous program for a full year prior to starting in yours and...
You can get a signed verification of their (or your) participation in the previous program from the previous employer or program administrator.
If it’s been longer than 30 days or either of the other two conditions aren't true or you can't get verification in writing--then you’ll need to get pre-employment testing done before that driver gets in the cab and drives.
It’s important to get it done because this is one of the areas that inspectors often fine motor carriers for, and the fines can be very costly. Also the liability for a motor carrier that allows an untested driver behind the wheel can be devastating if a driver gets caught or causes a serious accident.
What types of testing are you required to do?
What types of testing are you required to do?
If you are required to have a DOT drug testing under the regulations for motor carriers found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 49 part 382 and 40 , then there are 5 types of drug and 4 types of alcohol testing you must do when required.
DOT approved drug testing for all drug screening is a NIDA 5 panel drug screen, collected at a complying collection site, packaged and shipped in a complying chain of custody processed, tested at a Federally approved clinical laboratory, and reported by a Medical Review Officer (MRO) following DOT guidelines for handling results.
DOT approved alcohol testing comes in two types and two approved methods. The initial screening can be done by any Federally approved breath or saliva screening method. However if an initial alcohol screening test is above the allowed limit, then a second confirmation test must be done using a federally approved Evidential Breath Testing device (EBT). Blood testing is not allowed for either the initial screening or confirmation testing.
Pre-employment drug testing (no alcohol)
The first type of testing is pre-employment drug screening of new employees who are required to be a in a drug-free workplace program. Typically those are employee required to hold a CDL license. There are exceptions to the rule for pre-employment testing (click here to see the post covering it detail).There is no required pre-employment alcohol testing.
Random drug and alcohol testing
Random drug and alcohol testing is to be submitted to by covered employees (generally CDL holders) who have been selected by a scientifically random method at the rate required by the regulations. An employee who has been notified of a required test must proceed immediately for testing. They may not refuse, interfere with, or tamper with the testing in any way or it will be considered a refusal which carries the same consequences as a positive result.
Post-accident drug and alcohol testing
Whenever a covered driver has an accident that either results in an injury to any party, requires any vehicle involved to be towed, or results in a citation to the CDL driver, they are required to submit to post-accident drug and alcohol testing. They are to have the testing done as soon as possible which can sometimes present some challenges depending on the location of the accident and the hour of the day. There are some cases where if the testing is delayed too long it can be skipped but there is some extra documentation required to explain the delay/omission of testing.
The last two types of testing are both for employees that are returning to work after a positive (or violation with the same consequences).
The first is Return to Duty drug or alcohol testing (depending on the circumstance). It/they must be administered and return negative before an employee is allowed to return to safety sensitive duties.
The second is Follow Up testing. This type of testing can vary in frequency which is determined by a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) who makes the determination (following the DOT guidelines) when/if an employee is allowed to return to safety sensitive duty and how often they are to have follow up testing.
Surviving a DOT Audit
Surviving a DOT Audit
Okay, so you just got a notification that an inspector from the Department of Transportation (DOT) will soon be paying your company a visit to do a compliance audit...and the panic sets in. But it doesn't have to be scary as long as you know what to expect and are ready when they get there.
So what do you need to know and do to be ready for an audit?
First understand that sooner or later you will be audited either by the Federal DOT or your state’s equivalent authority. So you might as well just be ready when it happens. We specialize in drug-free workplace programs so I won't advice you outside of that, but some of top things an inspector looks at for compliance (and give fines for) are:
- Drug and alcohol programs and records
- Driver Qualifications and records
- Drivers Hours of Service records
- Hazardous materials handling and records
- Vehicle maintenance and repair records
As far as your drug testing program I like to summarize what an inspector looks at as falling into three main areas; paperwork, training, and testing. Paperwork includes your company, driver, and supervisor files, records of training, test results, testing summary reports, your company drug-free workplace policy and other items.
You should have documentation that your drivers have had the required training including information about the use of the drugs that are tested for and alcohol, what conduct is prohibited, what constitutes a violation, the consequences of a violation, information about how to let you know if they feel they have a problem, who they can see for help, and who the company Designated Employee Representative (DER) is.
You should have documentation that your supervisors have had the required reasonable suspicion training to spot the indicators of drug or alcohol use in case they need to ask a suspected employee to submit for a test.
Finally you must have documentation for and conduct all required types of drug and alcohol testing including pre-employment, random, post accident, return to work, and follow up testing (for employees returning to duty after a positive result).
A failure in any of these areas can result in fines or even a suspension depending on the situation, so it pays to cross your “t’s” and dot your “i’s” to get into compliance.
Mydrugtestingprogram.com clients get a program that adresses each of these three areas including a handy “Compliance Checklist” which helps guide you step by step to get your office completely set up and ready for an audit.
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