DOT Alcohol & Drug Testing: Requirements & Regulations for Transportation Employees

The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 was introduced by Congress to provide drug testing for transportation employees after a number of high-profile accidents took place.

Aim

• Alcohol testing was added to the drug testing provided by the DOT in 1994 in an attempt to provide drug- and alcohol-free transportation employees for the general public. Safety-sensitive transportation employees are described by the DOT as being those who work in aviation, railroads, mass transit, pipelines and other transportation systems.

Testing

• The DOT reports that when an employee fails a urine or breath test, he is immediately removed from performing safety-sensitive operations. The employee is interviewed by a medical review officer, who examines medical evidence to find a reason for a failed test. Only after this interview is the employer informed of the reasons for the test results.

Guidelines

• After a failed drug or alcohol test, an employee must perform a number of actions in order to be allowed to resume a safety-sensitive position. The employee must be assessed and be reassessed following any course of action recommended by a substance abuse professional. The employee will be allowed to resume safety-sensitive duties only after passing another drug or alcohol test and will be tested at least six times over the following 12 months.