2020 is on the horizon, and employers must be ready to comply with many new developments in the world of workplace drug and alcohol testing. Here is a summary of significant laws that will take effect in 2020 (and some that have already taken effect): Illinois Recreational Marijuana Law – The Cannabis Regulation and Tax … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) published scientific and technical guidelines for oral fluid drug testing in federal workplace drug testing programs in the Federal Register on October 25, 2019. The Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs Using Oral Fluid (OFMG) allows federal executive branch agencies to collect and test … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced on October 1, 2019 that Clearinghouse registration is now open. The FMCSA Clearinghouse is an electronic database that will contain information about commercial motor vehicle drivers’ drug and alcohol program violations. The Clearinghouse will become operational on January 6, 2020, and FMCSA-regulated employers must … Continue Reading
A federal court in New York dismissed a disability discrimination claim asserted under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) based on allegedly “excessive” drug and alcohol testing of employees after they failed drug or alcohol tests required under the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)’s regulations. Vuono, et al. v. Consolidated Edison of New York, Inc., … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Clearinghouse will become operational on January 6, 2020, and FMCSA-regulated employers must be ready to comply with the Clearinghouse requirements on that date. The FMCSA Clearinghouse is an electronic database that will contain information about commercial motor vehicle drivers’ drug and alcohol program violations. Although … Continue Reading
An employer lawfully terminated a commercial motor vehicle driver after the driver was unable to provide a sufficient amount of urine during a random drug test and could not prove that he had a medical condition that would have prevented him from providing the specimen. Beller v. Wal-Mart Transp., LLC, No. 17-cv-530, 2019 U.S. Dist. … Continue Reading
The Department of Transportation’s operating agencies have announced their random drug and alcohol testing rates for 2019. The Federal Transit Administration and the United States Coast Guard have raised their random drug testing rates to 50% for 2019. All other random testing rates remain unchanged from 2018. Agency 2019 Random Drug Testing Rate 2019 Random … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration announced December 8, 2017 that during calendar year 2018, the minimum random drug testing rate will be increased to 50%. Operators of gas, hazardous liquid, and carbon dioxide pipelines and operators of liquefied natural gas facilities must randomly select and test a percentage of … Continue Reading
The drug testing panel utilized by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s operating agencies will change on January 1, 2018. (Click here to read our blog post on that change). DOT published guidance on December 1, 2017 to assist employers with regard to updating their drug and alcohol testing policies. The guidance states as follows: “The … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced in a rule published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2017, that, among other revisions to its drug and alcohol testing regulations, it will expand its drug testing panel to include four “semi-synthetic” opioid drugs: hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone and oxymorphone. These changes are being made to harmonize DOT’s … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration’s (“FRA”) final rule expanding drug and alcohol testing to maintenance-of-way (“MOW”) employees takes effect on June 12, 2017. MOW employees are “employees of a railroad, or of a contractor to a railroad, whose duties include inspection, construction, maintenance or repair of railroad track, bridges, roadway, signal and … Continue Reading
Today the U.S. Department of Transportation published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register in which it proposes to amend its drug testing program regulation to add four synthetic opioids (hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone and oxycodone) to its drug testing panel. DOT also proposes to add methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) as an initial test analyte, and … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced a final rule on December 2, 2016 establishing a national drug and alcohol clearinghouse database for commercial motor vehicle drivers. This new database will contain information pertaining to violations of the DOT’s drug and alcohol testing regulations for holders of commercial driver’s licenses. Although … Continue Reading
A federal district court in the District of Columbia has allowed a bus mechanic to proceed with claims of disability discrimination and retaliation, after he was fired for using Adderall to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (“ADHD”). McFadden v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, CV-12-940 (D.D.C. September 2, 2016). McFadden was hired by WMATA as … Continue Reading
A South Carolina company that hauls gasoline, diesel fuel and ethanol throughout the country will face an Americans with Disabilities Act suit brought by a rejected DOT driver applicant with a sleep disorder for which he was prescribed an amphetamine (Dexedrine), the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond has decided, reversing a lower’s court’s dismissal … Continue Reading
It has long been recognized that federal regulations mandating drug testing for certain employees in safety-sensitive industries preempt contrary provisions in Minnesota’s state drug testing law known as “DATWA” (Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act). But some Minnesota practitioners have argued for years that employee protections in DATWA should not be preempted if … Continue Reading
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) published a Request For Information on May 29, 2015 that solicits comments about potential hair testing for drugs in an effort to revise and update standards for laboratory drug testing procedures for federal workers. Tasked by the Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA is looking … Continue Reading
The Department of Transportation published a final rule in the Federal Register effective April 13, 2015 concerning the use of the electronic version of the Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Form (eCCF). The final rule allows DOT-regulated employers, collectors, laboratories and medical review officers to use the electronic version of the Federal Drug Testing … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued on September 30, 2014 a reminder to Medical Review Officers (MROs) concerning transportation employees’ use of prescription medications. Specifically, the reminder addressed the process to be followed when verifying drug test results of employees who use prescription medications, as well as the MRO’s obligation to raise fitness-for-duty concerns … Continue Reading
A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a commercial motor vehicle driver’s claims that his employer violated the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act when it fired him after learning of his alcoholism. Sakari Jarvela v. Crete Carrier Corporation, Case No. 13-11601 (11th Cir. June 18, 2014). The … Continue Reading
The Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) announced last week that it is considering expanding its current drug and alcohol testing regulations to require testing of certain foreign repair and maintenance workers performing work for U.S. air carriers. While the FAA has long required random drug and alcohol testing of workers responsible for maintaining and repairing aircrafts … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced February 12, 2014 a proposed rule to establish a federal Clearinghouse of drug and alcohol test result information for holders of commercial drivers’ licenses. The primary purpose of the Clearinghouse is to assist FMCSA-regulated employers in screening applicants during the hiring process. Under current … Continue Reading
The United States Department of Transportation (“DOT”)’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance announced on December 5, 2013 the annual minimum drug and alcohol random testing rates for 2014 for employers regulated by each DOT operating agency: Employers subject to more than one DOT Agency drug and alcohol testing rule may continue to … Continue Reading
Millions of truck drivers subject to the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration drug and alcohol testing regulations may be subject to hair testing for alleged drugs in addition to the urine testing currently authorized under the FMCSA rules, if recently proposed federal legislation is enacted. Relying on the results obtained by Arkansas-based … Continue Reading
