What You Need to Know for DOT Alcohol & Drug Testing

The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 was introduced by Congress to provide drug testing for transportation employees after a number of high-profile accidents took place.

Aim

• Alcohol testing was added to the drug testing provided by the DOT in 1994 in an attempt to provide drug- and alcohol-free transportation employees for the general public. Safety-sensitive transportation employees are described by the DOT as being those who work in aviation, railroads, mass transit, pipelines and other transportation systems.

Testing

• The DOT reports that when an employee fails a urine or breath test, he is immediately removed from performing safety-sensitive operations. The employee is interviewed by a medical review officer, who examines medical evidence to find a reason for a failed test. Only after this interview is the employer informed of the reasons for the test results.

Guidelines

• After a failed drug or alcohol test, an employee must perform a number of actions in order to be allowed to resume a safety-sensitive position. The employee must be assessed and be reassessed following any course of action recommended by a substance abuse professional. The employee will be allowed to resume safety-sensitive duties only after passing another drug or alcohol test and will be tested at least six times over the following 12 months.