• Employers can hire service providers to follow a DOT test from beginning to end to stay compliant.
• Employers, not service providers, are ultimately responsible for DOT drug and alcohol testing compliance.

Due to the sensitive nature of Department of Transportation (DOT) drug and alcohol testing, service providers must be selected carefully. A company’s service providers follow a DOT test from beginning to end and offer services in the event a driver is found to have violated the prohibitions in Part 382.

If a service provider is not qualified or is not following DOT protocols, the motor carrier is held responsible by the DOT since it is the regulated entity, and employees who feel that rights to a fair test have been compromised may hold the employer liable.

Before entering a contract with a vendor, be sure service providers:

• Are properly trained,
• Understand DOT procedures, and
• Protect employee privacy.

A DOT-regulated testing program requires that many service providers meet specific criteria and training. Employers will need to verify that a service provider meets any accreditation and/or training specified 49 CFR Part 40 — before contracting with it. Note that these same training requirements must be applied to company employees performing DOT drug or alcohol tests in house.

Even if employers initially verify the credentials of service providers, a motor carrier must not assume that its vendors remain qualified to perform the same roles throughout the contract. Many key partners in a DOT testing program are required to have refresher training. To ensure the tasks are being performed by knowledgeable and proficient professionals, motor carriers need to ask for documentation. The right to ask for this proof is sprinkled throughout 49 CFR Part 40 (within each of the service provider’s categories).

Motor carriers typically ask for documentation of training at the beginning or renewal of a contract. To ensure contracted parties continue to meet criteria, a company could ask for proof annually or anytime it finds DOT procedures are not being followed.