Increase in the use of illicit drugs and alcohol among employees has made drug testing mandatory for all work settings. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has mandated that employers in the transportation industry have strong drug and alcohol testing programs. All employees in safety-sensitive jobs such as aviation, trucking, mass transit, railroads, and pipelines are subject to DOT workplace drug testing.
DOT drug tests are conducted only using urine specimens. The urine specimens are analyzed for drugs/metabolites such as Marijuana /THC, Cocaine, Amphetamines (including methamphetamine, MDMA), Opiates (including codeine, heroin, morphine) and Phencyclidine (PCP).
Drug or alcohol testing will be conducted during situations such as pre-employment, reasonable suspicion/cause, return-to-duty, follow-up, post-accident, and at random. DOT conducts random and scheduled audits to ensure that companies adhere to these testing guidelines and maintain proper records.
Only a U.S. drug testing laboratory that is certified by HHS under the National Laboratory Certification Program (NLCP) will be permitted to participate in DOT drug testing. The Federal Regulations Code specifies rules for collecting drug test specimens from DOT employees. Employees selected for random drug testing must submit urine specimens at a specified collection site. Tests are conducted by a certified collector. Employees refusing a test or are tested positive, will soon be removed from safety-sensitive functions.
In the lab, specimens that screen positive will be analyzed again using a completely different testing methodology. Also, the laboratory will be advised to retain all records pertaining to each employee's urine specimen for a minimum of two years. Lab test results will be reviewed by a Medical Review Officer (MRO) to determine if there are any legitimate medical reasons for a positive, adulterated or substituted result.
If the result is positive, MRO will conduct an interview with the employee to determine if there is a legitimate medical reason for the result. If a legitimate medical reason is established, the MRO will report the result to the Designated Employer Representative (DER) as negative. If not, the MRO will report the result to the DER as positive.
With more advanced drug testing options such as point-of-care drug test cups, now workplace drug testing can be simplified. QuikScreen Urine Drug Test Cups are FDA approved and these cups can provide faster and accurate drug test results in just five minutes. This easy-to-use urinalysis drug test detects drugs and drug metabolites at SAMHSA cutoff levels. Its test method employs a unique mixture of antibodies to selectively identify drugs of abuse and their metabolites in test samples with a high degree of sensitivity.