November 2001
Questions & Answers
Pre-Employment Alcohol Testing
QUESTION: Can an employer wishing
to conduct pre-employment alcohol testing, do
so?
ANSWER: A DOT-regulated employer (except
under USCG and RSPA rules) wishing to conduct
pre-employment alcohol testing under DOT authority
may do so if certain conditions are met:
- The testing must be accomplished for all applicants (i.e., the employer cannot select for testing some applicants and not others) and the testing must be conducted as a post-offer requirement (i.e., the employer needs to inform the applicant that he or she has the job if he or she passes a DOT alcohol test).
- In addition, the testing and its consequences must comply with requirements of Part 40.
D.O.T PART 40 Q & A:
Pre-Employment Alcohol Testing
Here we are in the last couple months of the year, and what a year it has been in the drug and alcohol testing industry. As you may be aware, there has been a couple of changes including the rewrite of D.O.T Part 40 and the enforcement of the new Custody & Control Form (CCF). In addition, our contracted laboratory PharmChem relocated from Menlo Park to Ft. Worth Texas.
As a result of all these changes and some mail delays due to current events you may have experienced problems in receiving test results. CalDATA has and continues to make every effort to minimize the impact of working with other service agents to bring you a quality drug and alcohol testing program. I would like to thank all of you for your patience and continued support during this time of transition, especially since regulatory changes impact the entire industry and it takes time to get all service agents and employers acclimated to operating on the same page. If you or your drivers experience problems in the collection or testing process, please contact us immediately at 800-820-9314 and we will help you resolve all issues as quickly as possible.
Please remember that unless you are setup on our automatic fax option list, your negative test results will be sent to you by mail which can take a couple of weeks. You can always call us within 24 to 48 hours of a driver’s specimen collection and we can report the test result or give you a status update verbally. Also, quarterly statistical reports will automatically be sent to you by the laboratory and can take up to 30 days after the end of each quarter. However, if you need a report for an inspection you can call us preferably 48 hours before the inspection or call Malinda with PharmChem directly at 800-446-5177 Ext. 333.
Since the release of the revised drug and alcohol testing rule 49 CFR Part 40, D.O.T continues to answer questions in response to requests for clarification of its rules. These most frequently asked questions and answers which constitute official and authoritative guidance and interpretation, have been posted in their entirety on the D.O.T website at www.dot.gov. I will pick and include a few of these Q&A’s periodically in future updates. You will find the first one highlighted in the next column.
Finally, this year we have hired three new employees
which I will also feature each of them over the
next few months, so please take the time to read
through to the end of this article and meet the
first new CalDATA customer service team member,
Bianca Posadas.
Again, thank you for your patience and cooperation
as we work together to overcome the hurdle of
change.
Note that throughout this article, when I refer to the applicable federal regulations, I’m referring to CFR 49, Parts 40 & 382; these regulations can be found in Section 5 of the AADT Company Compliance Manual or in the AADT website at www.aadrugtesing.com under links at DOT Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance at www.dot.gov/ost/dapc or Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.