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Question - We had an employee test positive for cocaine, but he swears that it must have been a mistake. He was contacted by the Medical Review Officer (MRO) and told that he can request to have the split specimen tested and the cost would be $125.
The employee said that since he “does not do drugs” he did not want to waste his money. He offered to take another test to prove that he is not “dirty”, but it is our understanding that once an employee has tested positive we can not use him in a safety sensitive position until he has completed the return-to-duty process.
The employee said that he was not going to go through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and quit. Just for our own peace of mind, can we ask the MRO to have the employee’s split specimen tested?
Answer - No. Because the split specimen exists to provide the employee with “due process” in the event that he or she desires to challenge the primary specimen’s results, only the employee can request that the split specimen be tested. In addition, an employer or a union (or other labor representative) may not act on the behalf of the employee in requesting that the split specimen be tested.
The employee must make the request directly to the MRO. (DOT Q&A, January 2002). Employers need to bear in mind that if an employee wants to have their split specimen tested but they cannot afford the cost to do so, the employer is responsible to ensure that the testing is conducted as required even if it means the employer has to assume the cost burden at the time of the request.
Reimbursement provisions can be made between the employer and employee at their discretion.
(refer to §40.173)
Prior to and surprisingly even during this recession, we have seen cost increases by all of our vendors, labs, collection sites and our MRO. And just like you, we are seeing our business drop due to this poor economy, but we decided unlike many of our vendors to not increase our prices. So to continue to provide our clients “you” with uncompromising service and unique technology, we have looked to other quality vendors who do understand this economy and are willing to provide high quality services for less.
Over the next few months, AADT will be transitioning to MEDTOX Laboratories, Inc., (MEDTOX) as our primary laboratory for our drug testing. MEDTOX is the 3rd largest SAMSHA certified laboratory in the nation and has been offering occupational drug testing services for over 25 years. We have been familiar with MEDTOX for a number of years and have been entertaining the idea of switching for some time now.
Our biggest challenge will be to get our 600+ collection sites that we currently utilize, acclimated to the transition, meaning using their chain of custody forms. We realize with any changes to a companies procedures there may be some minor hiccups along the way, but we are working diligently to make the transition as smooth as possible, and frankly I’m extremely impressed with MEDTOX’s entire staff at all levels. So I’m optimistic that the transition will be virtually transparent.
As far as the effect on our clients, you shouldn’t see much difference, with the exception that your semi-annual and annual reports will be coming, from MEDTOX instead of LabCorp in the future.
We hope to have the transition completed by July 1st of this year. AADT will still be maintaining our accounts through LabCorp, as well as Quest Diagnostics, Inc., as back up laboratories if and when the need arises.
Lonnie Johnson
AADT Operations Director
lonnie@aadrugtesting.com