May a union rep be present for drug test?
DOT regulations and guidance do not address this question. Because there are no test results generated during a urine specimen collection, the issue of confidentiality of test results does not exist, so our opinion is we don’t see why a union rep would be prohibited from being present for a drug test. The same parameters that apply to breath alcohol testing would apply here as well: The company policy must permit the union rep to be present, and the rep may not interfere with the collection process. Additionally, a union rep is not allowed to accompany the donor into the restroom.
Conversely, the DOT regulations require the Collector to begin the drug testing process without delay. A Collector is not required to wait for a union rep to appear before they begin the drug test.