Part 40 Questions and Answers

• Is the United States Coast Guard (USCG) a DOT Agency with respect to the DOT’s drug and alcohol testing regulation, 49 CFR Part 40?
• May an employer conduct pre-employment alcohol testing?
• How does the Department’s Public Interest Exclusion (PIE) process work when a service agent has been convicted for an offense related to non-compliance with Part 40 or DOT Agency drug and alcohol testing rules?
• During periods of hot weather, how may Medical Review Officers (MROs) handle laboratory results reported as invalid because of pH greater than or equal to 9.0 but less than or equal to 9.5?
• Do the DOT Part 40 Questions and Answers provide official regulatory guidance?
• Are there any circumstances for which an employee should be given more than 3 hours and 40 ounces of fluids to provide a sufficient amount of urine during a collection?
• Must a test result be cancelled by the MRO when it is discovered the employee did not have a full three hours to provide a sufficient amount of urine?
• In addition to information needed for billing purposes, does DOT authorize other information to be included outside the boundaries of the Alcohol Testing Form (ATF)?
• Can a collector mark through pre-printed employer, MRO, collection site, and/or laboratory information on the CCF if that information is not accurate for a particular collection?
• What are some examples of an employee’s failure to cooperate with the testing process that would cause a refusal to test and how should the collector handle them?
• If an employee fails to provide a sufficient amount of urine during an observed collection, can an employer remove the employee from performing safety-sensitive functions pending receipt of the verified result from the Medical Review Officer (MRO)?
• Is a Medical Review Officer (MRO) permitted to accept an employee’s prescription for medication obtained over the Internet?
• What does an MRO do when a drug test result is invalid due to “color discrepancy?”
• Will FMCSA- and FAA-regulated employers complying with the drug and alcohol information records check be considered compliant with 40.25?
• What must an MRO do when he or she determines that there is no split laboratory capable of testing the adulterant identified by the primary laboratory after the employee has asked for the split to be tested?
• May the previous employer delay sending an employee’s drug and alcohol testing information to the gaining employer pending payment for the cost of the information?
• If an applicant admits to testing positive within the past two years, must the applicant be held out of safety-sensitive duties if he or she did not complete the return-to-duty process?
• When an employee leaves an employer for a period of time (but not exceeding two years) and returns must the employer once again seek to obtain information it may have received previously from other employers?
• Because Part 40 requires collectors, MROs, BATs and STTs, and SAPs to maintain their own training records, can employers or training entities refuse to provide these service agents their training records?
• Is error correction training required if a drug test is cancelled due to a specimen having an insufficient amount of urine?
• Where can billing information be entered onto the Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Form (CCF)?
• What actual address is required for “Collection Site Address” in Step 1 of the CCF, and what telephone number should the collector provide?
• If the primary laboratory must redesignate bottle B for bottle A, can the laboratory test the specimen if only 15 mL of urine is present in the redesignated bottle A?
• Must a certifying scientist’s signature be on Copy 1 of the CCF if the drug test result is negative?
• Is it appropriate for the MRO to attempt to contact the employee after normal office hours?
• May the MRO report an “interim” or “preliminary” test result to the employer (or C/TPA) while awaiting receipt of the MRO copy and/or the laboratory result?
• Can someone other than the employee direct that an MRO have the employee’s split specimen tested?
• Can a split specimen be sent to a second laboratory that is under the same corporate title as the primary laboratory?
• Can the MRO require an employee’s split specimen test request to be in writing rather than verbal?
• Do the five days within which an employee is given to obtain a medical evaluation after providing an insufficient amount of urine or breath include holidays and weekends, or does this refer to five business days?
• Is an employer considered to be in compliance with Part 40 if EBTs are not available within 30 minutes of an alcohol screening test location?
• Is error correction training required if an alcohol test is cancelled due to equipment failure?
• May an employer conduct follow-up testing under company authority that goes beyond the follow-up testing which the SAP determines necessary?
• If an employee requests his/her records from the MRO, do these records include the MRO’s notes and comments or only copies of the CCF and laboratory result?