DOT Test FAQ
DOT test FAQ
What laboratories may be used for DOT testing?
Only DOT testing laboratories located in the U.S., certified by HHS under the National Laboratory Certification Program, are permitted to participate in DOT testing.
As an MRO, you have the following essential responsibilities:
- Acting as an independent and impartial "gatekeeper" and advocate for the accuracy and integrity of the DOT testing process.
- Providing a quality assurance review of the DOT testing process for the specimens being reviewed
Congress passed the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 because they recognized the safety need for ensuring DOT- -free transportation employees. The "Act" required DOT Agencies to implement DOT testing of safety-sensitive transportation employees in the aviation, trucking (including school bus drivers and particular limousine and van drivers), railroads, mass transit, and pipelines industries.
1-Pre-employment testing: Occurs before hire or transfer into a safety-sensitive function.
Random testing: Unannounced on an ongoing basis, spread reasonably throughout the calendar year
Post-accident testing - Occurs following the modes qualifying accident.
Reasonable Cause/Suspicion testing - Occurs when a company official or supervisor believes the employee shows signs of DOT use misuse.
Return-to-duty and Follow-up testing: Occurs after an employee has a verified positive DOT test, positive test result, or refusal to test. The employee must take a return-to-duty test before returning to safety-sensitive functions
You will be tested for the following DOT:
- Marijuana
- Cocaine
- Opioids (Codeine, morphine, heroin, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, oxymorphone)
- Phencyclidine (PCP)
- Amphetamines, Methamphetamines, and Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)
Refusals include, but are not limited to:
- No-show (failure to appear at the test collection site at the designated time)
- Failure to remain at the testing site until the collection is completed
- Adulteration (urine specimen containing a substance or a concentration of a substance inconsistent with human urine)
- Substitution (urine specimen containing creatinine and specific gravity levels inconsistent with human urine)
- Failure to cooperate with any part of the testing process
Your employer is required to remove you from performing safety-sensitive functions immediately. You will not be permitted to return to DOT regulated safety-sensitive operations until you have
- Undergone an evaluation by a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP).
- Completed any course, counseling, or treatment prescribed by the SAP before returning to service;
- Undergone a follow-up evaluation by the same SAP to determine your compliance with their recommendations
- Provided a breath and urine specimen that tests negative for DOT before returning to DOT regulated safety-sensitive functions.
All employment decisions belong solely to the employer. DOT and USCG regulations prohibit you from performing your safety-sensitive functions after a positive test result or refusal to submit to testing. DOT regulations do not address employment actions such as hiring, firing, or leaves of absence.
Are my results confidential?
Your test results are confidential. An employer or service agent (e.g., a testing laboratory, Medical Review Officer, or Substance Abuse Professional) cannot disclose your test result(s) without your written consent.
Your DOT testing history will follow you to your new employer. Employers are required by law to provide certain records of your DOT testing history to your new employer only when you sign a specific written release regarding that information. This is to ensure that, when necessary, you continue and complete the return-to-duty process and your follow-up testing program.
