Drug-testing guideline changes could affect DOT rules
Changes to drug-testing guidelines for federal employees may soon trickle down to affect DOT’s testing rules for truck and bus drivers.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued new “Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs,” including changes for both urine and saliva testing. (Anxiously awaited hair-testing guidelines are still in the works.)
Not always adopted by DOT
The U.S. DOT is required to harmonize its testing rules in 49 CFR Part 40 with the HHS Guidelines, including any amendments. The DOT’s testing rules mirror HHS Guidelines for laboratory and specimen-testing procedures, but the agency has discretion when it comes to other requirements. Therefore, not all HHS changes find their way into DOT rules.
Among the changes to the Guidelines:
- HHS will begin issuing an annual notice containing the current list of drugs and biomarkers for which employees are tested. This will allow the agency to update the list on a yearly basis, if needed.
- Donors will no longer be required to remove items worn for faith-based reasons when undergoing a test.
- A donor is considered to have refused a pre-employment test if he or she fails to appear in a reasonable time or leaves the collection site before the collection process begins. Under prior Guidelines and current DOT rules, such actions are not considered a refusal.
- HHS clarified that none of the following is a legitimate medical explanation for a positive drug test result:
- Passive exposure to a drug (such as second-hand exposure to marijuana smoke);
- The eating of foods containing a drug (such as products containing marijuana, poppy seeds containing codeine, etc.); or
- A doctor’s authorization or recommendation that the employee take a Schedule 1 drug such as marijuana (under federal law, Schedule I drugs cannot legally be prescribed).
- Certain saliva collection steps have been clarified and reordered.
In another change, the HHS will require medical review officers (MROs) to submit twice-yearly reports about any drug tests reported as positive by the lab but confirmed as negative by the MRO. HHS says this requirement will not apply to DOT tests.
The DOT is expected to review the changes and determine whether to incorporate any into its Part 40 regulations. Any changes to the rules will be published in the Federal Register.
Key to remember: Drug-testing guidelines for federal employees have been updated, which means changes to the DOT’s rules for drivers could soon follow.