§40.293 What is the SAP’s function in conducting the initial evaluation of an employee?

Also applies to:

• §40.291 What is the role of the SAP in the evaluation, referral, and treatment process of an employee who has violated DOT agency drug and alcohol testing regulations?

Question: Suppose the SAP fails to make the required recommendation for education and/or treatment of an employee who has violated a DOT agency drug or alcohol testing rule, and simply sends the employee back to the employer for a return-to-duty (RTD) test. What is the employer to do?

Answer:

• The employer should not administer an RTD test under these circumstances.
• The employer should refer the employee back to the SAP with direction to prescribe education and/or treatment and conduct a re-evaluation of the employee to determine whether the employee has successfully complied with the SAP’s instructions.
• If the employer has compounded the problem by having conducted the RTD test and returned the employee to safety-sensitive duties (i.e., only realizes that a mistake has been made some time after the fact), the employer should work with the SAP to “go back and do it right.”
• This means that the employee should be removed from performance of safety-sensitive functions, referred back to the SAP for an education and/or treatment prescription, and re-evaluated by the SAP for successful compliance. Following the receipt of a successful compliance report from the SAP, the employer would conduct another RTD test before returning the employee to performance of safety-sensitive functions.