{"id":50850,"date":"2014-03-24T14:28:58","date_gmt":"2014-03-24T14:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nationaldrugscreening.com\/?p=50850"},"modified":"2022-12-02T12:09:54","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T17:09:54","slug":"dot-random-testing-stand-alone-or-consortium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationaldrugscreening.com\/blogs\/dot-random-testing-stand-alone-or-consortium\/","title":{"rendered":"DOT Random Testing – Stand Alone or Consortium"},"content":{"rendered":"

DOT Random Testing \u2013 Stand Alone or Consortium<\/strong><\/p>\n

Companies regulated by DOT<\/strong> <\/a>are required to have a random drug testing program.  How does this work?<\/p>\n

Why does DOT require random drug testing<\/strong> <\/a>\u2013 it is all about safety.  As an employer are you concerned about safety?  Yes of course and random drug testing prevents accidents and deters drug use.<\/p>\n

Each DOT agency sets the annual rates for random testing and defines the safety sensitive employees that must be enrolled in the random testing program.  The DOT agencies<\/a> <\/strong>are: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), and the United States Coast Guard (USCG).  The FMCSA is the most often that we deal with as it regulates trucks and buses with over 700,000 employers.<\/p>\n

A company DOT testing program must always be separate and distinct from your private company or non-DOT testing program. That goes for your random testing pools, too. DOT and non-DOT random testing pools must be completely separate.  There are two types of DOT random testing pools \u2013 Stand Alone or Consortium.<\/p>\n

Stand-Alone Pool<\/strong> \u2013 the random testing pool consists of participants of one company, thus a stand-alone company random testing pool.  The company has 100 drivers and 100 participants in the pool.  For an FMCSA regulated company with 100 drivers in the pool, 50 must be tested for drugs and 10 must be tested for alcohol each year.  Any company with 2 or more safety sensitive employees can utilize a standalone pool, but it is highly recommended that if a company has 8 or less employees that they use a Consortium Pool.<\/p>\n

Consortium Pool<\/strong> \u2013 this involves a grouping of company participants to form a consortium or group pool.  Owner operators and other companies with only one safety sensitive position are required to join a consortium pool. The pool might consist of 50 participants as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Company A – 1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Company D – 2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Company G – 8<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Company B – 1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Company E – 20<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Company H \u2013 3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Company C – 1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Company F – 10<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Company I \u2013 4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Total: 50<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

25 drug tests needed<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

5 alcohol tests needed<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Over the course of the year the consortium pool might pick participants for testing from Company A, C, E, G, and I.  The other companies B, D, F, and H are still in compliance as long as the consortium meets its required percentages and follows all the other rules and regulations for the DOT random testing program requirements.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few items to review in order to have a compliant DOT random testing program:<\/p>\n\n\n\n