Service agent

Scope

Motor carriers who are required to have a drug and alcohol testing program under Parts 40 and 382 will work with a variety of service agents such as laboratories, collection facilities, and medical review officers.

Regulatory citations

• 49 CFR Part 382 — Controlled substances and alcohol use and testing
• 49 CFR 40.15 — May an employer use a service agent to meet DOT drug and alcohol testing requirements?
• 49 CFR Part 40 — Procedures for transportation workplace drug and alcohol testing programs
• 49 CFR Part 40 Subpart Q — Roles and responsibilities of service agents
• 49 CFR Part 40 Subpart R — Public interest exclusions

Key definitions

• Breath alcohol technician (BAT): A person who instructs and assists employees in the alcohol testing process and operates an evidential breath testing device.
• Collection site: A place selected by the employer where employees present themselves for the purpose of providing a specimen for a drug test.
• Collector: A person who instructs and assists employees at a collection site, who receives and makes an initial inspection of the specimen provided by those employees, and who initiates and completes the CCF.
• Consortium/Third-party administrator (C/TPA): A service agent that provides or coordinates the provision of a variety of drug and alcohol testing services to employers. C/TPAs typically perform administrative tasks concerning the operation of the employers’ drug and alcohol testing programs. This term includes, but is not limited to, groups of employers who join together to administer, as a single entity, the DOT drug and alcohol testing programs of its members. C/TPAs are not “employers” for purposes of Part 40.
• Designated employer representative (DER): An employee authorized by the employer to take immediate action(s) to remove employees from safety-sensitive duties, or cause employees to be removed from these covered duties, and to make required decisions in the testing and evaluation processes. The DER also receives test results and other communications for the employer, consistent with the requirements of this part. Service agents cannot act as DERs.
• Employer: A person or entity employing one or more employees (including an individual who is self-employed) subject to DOT agency regulations requiring compliance with this part. The term includes an employer’s officers, representatives, and management personnel. Service agents are not employers for the purposes of Part 40.
• Laboratory: Any U.S. laboratory certified by HHS under the National Laboratory Certification Program as meeting the minimum standards of Subpart C of the HHS Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs; or, in the case of foreign laboratories, a laboratory approved for participation by DOT under Part 40.
• Medical review officer (MRO): A person who is a licensed physician and who is responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer’s drug testing program and evaluating medical explanations for certain drug test results.
• Screening test technician (STT): A person who instructs and assists employees in the alcohol testing process and operates an alcohol screening device ASD.
• Service agent: Any person or entity, other than an employee of the employer, who provides services to employers and/or employees in connection with DOT drug and alcohol testing requirements. This includes, but is not limited to, collectors, BATs and STTs, laboratories, MROs, substance abuse professionals, and C/TPAs. To act as service agents, persons and organizations must meet DOT qualifications, if applicable. Service agents are not employers for purposes of this part.
• Substance abuse professional (SAP): A person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.

Summary of requirements

Examples of service agents include, but are not limited to:

• Collectors
• Breath alcohol technicians (BATs)
• Screening test technicians (STTs)
• Laboratories
• Medical review officers (MROs)
• Substance abuse professionals (SAPs)
• Consortium/third-party administrators (C/TPAs)

To act as service agents, persons and organizations must meet the qualifications set forth in applicable sections of Parts 40 and 382. Service agents are not employers for purposes of the regulations.

The roles and responsibilities of service agents are described in Subpart Q. The motor carrier is responsible for Part 40 compliance even if it uses a service agent. As stated in 40.15(c): “Your good faith use of a service agent is not a defense in an enforcement action initiated by a DOT agency in which your alleged noncompliance with this part or a DOT agency drug and alcohol regulation may have resulted from the service agent’s conduct.” Public interest exclusion. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has established the public interest exclusion (PIE) to protect transportation employers and employees from serious noncompliance with DOT drug and alcohol testing rules by ensuring that employers conduct business only with responsible service agents.

The DOT uses PIEs to exclude any service agent from participating in its drug and alcohol testing program that by serious noncompliance has shown that is it not currently acting in a responsible manner. The process by which a service agent is issued a PIE is found in Subpart R of Part 40. The DOT maintains a document called “List of Excluded Drug and Alcohol Service Agents” which lists those agents who cannot be used in DOT drug and alcohol programs. This document can be found at the DOT website.