DOT Issues Part 40 Clarifications
The Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance (ODAPC)
of the Department of Transportation is the only agency that can provide
official and authoritative guidance and interpretation concerning 49 CFR
Part 40. When the ODAPC provides a definitive interpretation, the
information is posted on the agency’s website at
www.dot.gov/ost/dapc/qandq.html. Twenty interpretations were posted
in January 2002. A summary of the interpretations that are of special
interest to employers is provided below. However, readers should consult
the website to obtain the complete question, answer and explanation.
- When requesting drug and alcohol test results from
applicants’ previous employers, the request should be made for the
entire two year period even if the two years began prior to the August
1, 2001 implementation date of the rule (§40.25).
- If an Evidential Breath Testing Device (EBT) is not
available for use within 30 minutes of an alcohol screening test
location, the employer is considered to be out of compliance with Part
40 (§40.229; §40.231).
- An employer may not conduct any additional follow-up
testing under company authority that goes beyond the follow-up testing
established by the SAP (§40.307).
- Following a breath or urine collection that results
in insufficient volume, the employee is given five business days
(excluding holidays and weekends) to obtain a medical evaluation to
determine if there is a legitimate medical explanation for the
insufficient volume (§40.193;§40.265)
- An MRO must not require that an employee’s split
specimen test request be in writing. MROs must accept a verbal request
to have the split specimen tested (§40.171).
- Only the employee can request that the MRO have the
split specimen tested. An employer, union or other labor representative
may not act on the behalf of the employee in requesting that the split
be tested (§40.171).
- Since the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
certifies each laboratory separately and on its own merits, a split
specimen may be sent to a second HHS certified laboratory that is under
the same corporate title as the primary laboratory (§40.171). For
example, if the primary specimen was tested at XYZ Laboratory in
Dallas, TX, the split specimen may be sent to XYZ Laboratory in
Chicago, IL.
- An MRO may not send an “in-progress” negative or
non-negative test result to the employer while awaiting additional
information necessary to complete the verification process. An MRO must
not report test results until and unless he/she has received all
required information from the collection site and laboratory (§40.163).
- Following a non-negative test result, the MRO must
attempt to contact the employee during the evening, at the evening
phone number if the employee is not available at the daytime number
(§40.131).
- Since validity testing is currently an employer
option, employers who chose not to conduct validity tests are not
required to submit blind specimens to laboratories that are adulterated
or substituted. An employer that opts not to conduct validity tests
must submit 75 percent of the blind specimens as blank (drug-free) and
25 percent must be positive for one or more drugs (§40.103).
DOT Corrects Error
On January 31, 2002 the Department of Transportation
published a minor correction to Part 40 in the Federal Register (Vol. 67,
No. 21, page 4677). The correction changes the reference in Section
40.45(a) to the Department of Health and Human Services website where the
Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Form (CCF) can be viewed. The
address should read
http://workplace.samhsa.gov. |
Where to Find? .....
49 CFR Part 40, Procedures
for Transportation Workplace Drug Testing Programs
Revised:
December 19, 2000
Federal Register Vol. 65,
Pages 79462 - 79579.
Primary Topic: Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol
Testing Program Revised Final Rule (49 CFR Part 40)
Technical Amendments:
August 1, 2001
Federal Register Vol. 66
Pages 41943 - 41955
Primary Topic Clarifications
and Collections to Part 40; Common Preamble to Modal Rules
HHS Mandatory Guidelines
for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs Notice of Proposed Rulemaking:
August 21, 2001
Federal Register Vol. 66
Pages 43876-43882
The information presented on this page should be used to update Chapters 6
of the Implementation Guidelines. |