Are you Ready for a DOT FMCSA Drug Testing Audit?

Are you Ready for a DOT FMCSA Drug Testing Audit?

There are actually three types of DOT FMCSA drug testing audits.  These are the Safety Audit, the Focused Review and the Compliance Review.  The Safety Audit is the most common, this is for companies with a new DOT # operating in interstate commerce.  Typically, if you have deficiencies in this audit you are given a warning and a specific period of time to correct the deficiencies.  If you do not make the corrections you can face fines, penalties and possible an out of service notification putting you out of business.

We expect the new Clearinghouse rules (effective January 6, 2020) to be part of all the DOT FMCSA audits.  Assistance with the Clearinghouse is available from www.clearinghouseservices.com.

The Focused Review is typically focused on one or more types of violations.  The Focused Review can lead to a Compliance Review which is a full DOT compliance review including other items besides drug & alcohol testing.

Drug & Alcohol Testing Compliance

If you get a letter about an audit, safety audit, focused review or compliance review; call your drug testing vender immediately for expert assistance.

Here are the items that will be looked at:

1. Driver Roster – A list of all current drivers will be required. You will need to show a negative pre-employment test for each of these drivers completed before the driver started driving in a safety-sensitive position.
2. For the above list of drivers for any hired on or after January 6, 2020 you will need to show Clearinghouse Queries.
3. For all currently employed drivers you will need to show the previous employer checks of drug & alcohol violation history. This is a manual paper process and still in effect until January 6, 2023.
4. For all currently employed drivers you will need to show proof of distribution of the drug/alcohol testing policy and also the distribution of education materials.
5. Supervisor’s Training Documentation – All supervisors need Reasonable Suspicion Training at the very least. You can have your supervisors do that from our online training website, upon completion of the training a certificate of completion is self-generated.
6. Drug & Alcohol Test Results – All positive results will be reviewed. The driver with a positive test must have been removed from the safety sensitive position and referred to a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP). Many drug testing providers maintain for you an online portal to retrieve results.
7. Random Testing Compliance – you will need to show that your drivers are enrolled in a random testing program either a consortium or stand-alone random pool. Statistics for the random testing will be verified for the required percentages. The current random testing rate for FMCSA is 50% for drugs and 10% for alcohol.  The rates for 2019 were 25% for drugs and 10% for alcohol.
8. Post-Accident Testing – any accidents your company has had will be looked at. Was the required post-accident testing completed.  FMCSA DOT post- accident testing should only be done under the following situations:
   1. When there is one or more human fatalities
   2. When at least one individual requires medical attention away from the scene AND the driver receives a citation for a moving violation
   3. When at least one vehicle incurs disabling damage so that it cannot be driven from the scene AND the driver receives a citation for a moving violation

Most carriers are able to get through the audits successfully.  If you believe your program is not in compliance, National Drug Screening can help you with immediate service.  The violations we see most often are as follows:

• No alcohol and/or drug testing program
• No random alcohol and/or drug testing program
• Using a driver who refused a required alcohol or drug test
• Using a driver, the company knows had a positive alcohol concentration of 0.04% or greater
• Using a driver who failed to complete the required follow-up procedures after testing positive for drugs