Safety is the first priority of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). To ensure that transportation providers employ workers who are 100% drug- and alcohol-free, the DOT developed regulations for a Alcohol and Drug Testing Program and created the position of Substance Abuse Professionals (SAPs) to assist those who are identified through this program as having a problem with drugs and/or alcohol.
As an employee or employer, how do I know if I am subject to DOT testing?
Generally, DOT regulations cover safety-sensitive transportation employers and employees. Each DOT agency (e.g. FRA, FMCSA, FTA, FAA, and PHMSA) and the USCG have specific drug and alcohol testing regulations that outline who is subject to their testing regulations.
What happens to me when I test positive or refuse to test (i.e. adulterate, or substitute my urine specimen, or decline to be tested)?
When you test positive or refuse a test, you are not permitted to perform safety-sensitive duties for any DOT-regulated employer until you have seen a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) and successfully completed the return-to-duty process, which includes a Federal return-to-duty drug and/or alcohol test. Working in a safety-sensitive position before successfully completing the return-to-duty process is a violation of the regulations.
What is a SAP?
A U.S. Department of Transportation Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) operates as a “gatekeeper” of the return-to-duty process and provides an important service to the employee, the employer and the traveling public. SAPs represent the major decision point (and in some cases the only decision point) an employer may have in choosing whether or not to place an employee behind the steering wheel of a school bus, in the cockpit of a plane, at the helm of an oil tanker, at the throttle of a train, in the engineer compartment of a subway car or at the emergency control valves of a natural gas pipeline. A SAP’s responsibility to the public is enormous. The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare in order to return the employee to his/her work duties as soon as is safely possible.
sAP ~ Alcohol & Drug Evaluation
A SAP will provide a comprehensive face-to-face assessment and clinical evaluation to determine what level of assistance the employee needs in resolving problems associated with alcohol use or prohibited drug use. After the assessment, the SAP will recommend a course of education and/or treatment which the employee must successfully complete before returning to DOT safety-sensitive duty. Treatment recommendations can include but are not limited to in-patient treatment, partial in-patient treatment, out-patient treatment, education programs, and aftercare. Education recommendation can include but are not limited to drug and alcohol education courses, self-help groups, and community lectures.
Employees and employers are prohibited from seeking a second SAP evaluation to obtain another recommendation after a qualified SAP evaluated the employee. Employers are not to rely on a second evaluation if the employee receives one contrary to this prohibition. No one may change in any way the SAP’s evaluation or recommendations for assistance. Only the SAP who made the initial assessment may modify the evaluation and recommendations based on new or additional information.
Before the employee’s return to safety-sensitive duties, the SAP has to provide a face-to-face follow-up evaluation with the employee to determine if the employee has demonstrated successful compliance with recommendations of the initial assessment. This evaluation must be accomplished before an employer can consider the employee for return to safety-sensitive functions. Therefore, the assessment serves to provide the employer with assurance that employee has made appropriate clinical progress sufficient to go back to duty.
After violating a DOT alcohol and drug regulation and before performing safety-sensitive functions in any DOT regulated industry, the employee must receive a SAP evaluation and demonstrate satisfactory compliance with the recommendations. Employers are responsible for making sure that newly hired employees, who had violated the DOT alcohol and drug regulation prior to being hired, obtain a SAP evaluation and successfully complete the recommendations before performing any safety-sensitive duties. The current employer is responsible for administering the follow-up drug and alcohol testing recommended by the SAP.
What is the cost of a DOT evaluation?
A DOT SAP evaluation costs $350 and includes the services listed above. Employees who perform safety-sensitive duties under US Department of Transportation rules (such as truck drivers) must have an evaluation by a qualified Substance Abuse Professional when they are in violation of DOT rules (for a positive test or a refusal to test). DOT qualified SAPs can perform these evaluations, which involve specialized assessment and compliance reports, as well as a return-to-duty assessment. The fixed fee for this process in this practice is payable at the time of the initial appointment, in cash, a cashier’s check, or a money order. This fee is not billable to health insurance. Employers may choose to pay for SAP evaluations. We can only work with those arrangements if the employer contacts us directly.
Follow-Up Testing
A SAP will develop and direct a follow-up testing plan for the employee returning to work following successful compliance. The number and frequency of unannounced follow-up tests are led by a SAP and must consist of at least six tests in the first 12 months following the employee’s return to safety-sensitive duties. Follow-up testing can last up to 60 months. The employer is responsible for ensuring that the employee is tested according to the plan. The employer must conduct all of the follow-up tests as well as the return-to-duty test as directly observed collections, which includes a procedure for ensuring the employee does not have a prosthetic and other devices designed to carry clean urine or a urine substitute. Follow-up testing is an important way that the employer has to determine if the employee has stopped using controlled substances or misusing alcohol.
If the SAP determines that an employee referred for alcohol abuse also uses drugs, or that an employee referred for drug use also abuses alcohol, the SAP can require that the individual is tested for both substances. The SAP’s decision to test for both can be based on information gathered during the initial evaluation, the SAP’s consultation contacts with the treatment program, and/or the information presented during the follow-up evaluation.
Follow-up testing is directly related to a rule violation and subsequent return to safety-sensitive duty. Random tests are independent of rule violations. Therefore, the two test types are to be separated – one cannot be substituted for the other or be conducted in place of the other. Follow-up testing should be unpredictable, unannounced, and conducted no less than six times throughout the first 12 months after the employee returns to safety-sensitive functions. Follow-up testing should be spread throughout the 12-month period and not be grouped into a shorter interval, although the testing can be more frequent during the initial months and less frequent during the final period. Follow-up testing can last up to 60 months. An employee subject to follow-up testing will continue to be subject to an employer’s random testing program. It is important to note that a follow-up test that is canceled is not a complete test; a canceled follow-up test must be recollected.
Follow-up testing is not to be conducted in a randomized way. An employee’s follow-up testing program is to be individualized and designed to ensure that the employee is tested the appropriate number of times as directed by the SAP. Random testing is neither individualized nor can it ensure that the employee receives the required number of tests.
Employees testing positive or refusing a test while in a follow-up testing program are subject to specific DOT rules regarding rules violations. In addition, the employees are subject to employer policies related to second violation of DOT rules. At a minimum, the employee must be removed immediately from safety-sensitive duties and must go through the entire SAP process again before returning to safety-sensitive duties.
Please download REQUEST SAP SERVICES FORM and bring to your first appointment.
What if I am not a DOT employee?
Employer required substance abuse assessments apply to situations involving drugs and/or alcohol in the workplace and are appropriate for non-DOT employees in the following circumstances:
Violation of a workplace policy or rule regarding drugs or alcohol
A positive alcohol or drug test while on duty
After a workplace accident & subsequent positive drug or alcohol test
A key aspect of most employer required substance abuse assessments is a recommendation from the evaluator about the appropriateness of the employee returning to normal work duties. Accurate Affordable Assessments assesses for work risk level and makes specific recommendations about appropriate return to work conditions (time-frame, etc.)
non-DOT SAP Evaluations
A significant number of companies maintain a drug-free workplace program for employees who are not subject to DOT regulations. A drug and alcohol testing plan is one way for an employer to maintain a safe work environment and can be based on insurance requirements, negotiated labor agreements and/or company Human Resource policies. When in writing as terms and conditions of employment, the employee must be fully compliant with the company’s drug and alcohol-testing program.
Many employers have come to recognize that the DOT SAP process is the gold standard for establishing the requirements necessary for an employee to be returned to work. Accordingly, an employer may require an employee who has failed or refused a drug or alcohol test to be seen by a DOT qualified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) for a ‘non-DOT SAP’ evaluation. While they cannot make the employee see a SAP, if the individual elects not to go through the process, the employer can legally deny one’s return to work.