DOT Testing Issues

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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…

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 …

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…