DOT Drug Testing 101: Are you Covered?
Posted by Anoop Mishra on Wed, Sep 28, 2011 @ 06:00 AM
If you're an employer with employees subject to Department of Transportation (DOT) mandated drug and alcohol testing, you know that compliance with the numerous and often very specific regulatory requirements can be a challenge (to say the least). Yet in this effort to navigate through the regulations, sometimes we can miss the proverbial forest for the trees. So it may be worthwhile to take a step back and ask a couple of basic questions: do I know which of my employees are covered under DOT regulations? If they are, then under which agency or agencies?
Keep in mind that there are multiple DOT agencies and, while there are certain common drug testing standards for all of them (found in 49 CFR Part 40), each agency does have its own unique requirements. So a random testing program that works for a Pipeline employee (PHMSA-covered) will not work for a CDL-holder driving an 18-wheeler (FMCSA-covered). So in the spirit of a DOT Drug Testing 101 refresher, take a look at a quick summary (recently published by DOT) of the key agencies and types of positions covered under each.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
Covered employee: A person who operates (i.e., drives) a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) with a gross vehicle weight rating (gvwr) of 26,001 or more pounds; or is designed to transport 16 or more occupants (to include the driver); or is of any size and is used in the transport of hazardous materials that require the vehicle to be placarded
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
Covered employee: A person who performs hours of service functions at a rate sufficient to be placed into the railroad’s random testing program. Categories of personnel who normally perform these functions are locomotive engineers, trainmen, conductors, switchmen, locomotive hostlers/helpers, utility employees, signalmen, operators, and train dispatchers
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Covered employee: A person who performs flight crewmember duties, flight attendant duties, flight instruction duties, aircraft dispatch duties, aircraft maintenance or preventive maintenance duties; ground security coordinator duties; aviation screening duties; and air traffic control duties.
Note: Anyone who performs the above duties directly or by contract for a part 119 certificate holder authorized to operate under parts 121 and/or 135, air tour operators defined in 14 CFR part 91.147, and air traffic control facilities not operated by the Government are considered covered employees.
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Covered employee: A person who performs a revenue vehicle operation; revenue vehicle and equipment maintenance; revenue vehicle control or dispatch (optional); Commercial Drivers License non-revenue vehicle operation; or armed security duties
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
Covered employee: A person who performs on a pipeline or liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility an operation, maintenance, or emergency-response function
United States Coast Guard (USCG)
Covered employee: A person who is on board a vessel acting under the authority of a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner's document. Also, a person engaged or employed on board a U.S. owned vessel and such vessel is required to engage, employ or be operated by a person holding a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner's document
Remember that as an employer you may need to comply with multiple agency requirements. It's also possible to have one employee that is covered under multiple agencies. We always want to make sure that "DOT compliance" begins with the proper identification and classification of employees. If you have questions about your "covered employee" profiles and testing programs and would like to consult with one of our DOT experts, feel free to contact us by clicking here.