Alcohol testing is an integral part of a successful drug and alcohol testing program. Nationwide Testing Association, Inc., has thousands of collection sites nationwide to help facilitate your alcohol testing needs. If you need help locating a collection site, contact us at 1.800.452.0030.
Federal Regulations – FMCSA (An Overview)
Regulations quoted below are from 49 CFR Part 382 Subpart B as pertaining to drivers of commercial motor vehicles regarding alcohol use.
- No driver “shall report for duty or remain on duty requiring the performance of safety-sensitive functions while having an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater. No employer having actual knowledge that a driver has an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater shall permit the driver to perform or continue to perform safety-sensitive functions.”
- No driver “shall report for duty or remain on duty requiring the performance of safety-sensitive functions while having an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater. No employer having actual knowledge that a driver has an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater shall permit the driver to perform or continue to perform safety-sensitive functions.”
- No driver “shall perform safety-sensitive functions within four hours after using alcohol.”
- No driver “required to take a post-accident alcohol test shall use alcohol for eight hours following the accident, or until he/she undergoes a post-accident alcohol test, whichever occurs first.”
- No driver shall refuse to submit to a post-accident, random, reasonable suspicion, or follow-up alcohol test. “No employer shall permit an employee who refuses to submit to such tests to perform or continue to perform safety-sensitive functions.”
Types of Tests Required
Because alcohol is a legal substance, alcohol testing is authorized on during, just before, or just after the employee performs safety-sensitive functions.
Random
The current FMCSA random testing rate of safety-sensitive employees is required at 10% of employees per year. This testing must be evenly spread throughout the year and the selection process must be made by a scientifically valid method. NTA, Inc.’s clients may choose a random selection frequency of weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. Our random lists are electronically generated by a computer program written to meet government standards. Each time a selection is made, every employee has an equal chance of being chosen.
Companies with 7 or fewer eligible employees may be placed in a consortium. Consortiums are random testing pools that consist of employees from many different companies. Selection percentages are met by the entire consortium and are spread evenly throughout the year on a quarterly basis. All participants in the consortium must complete testing or they will be removed and set up as an independent pool.
Post Accident
Post accident alcohol testing is required within 2-8 hours of an accident where any of the following have taken place:
- the accident involved a fatality regardless of fault
- any of the participants in the accident received bodily injury requiring immediate medical treatment away from the scene and the driver received a citation for a moving violation
- any vehicle involved received disabling damage requiring tow away and the driver received a citation for a moving violation
- NOTE: Medical attention is not to be delayed in order for these tests to be completed. If tests are not completed, the employer must have a reasonable explanation and document accordingly.
Reasonable Suspicion
An employee is required to submit to reasonable suspicion testing when a *trained supervisor or company official has reason to believe that the employee has violated the prohibitions of CFR 382 subpart. The observations must be based on specific aspects concerning the appearance, behavior, speech, or body odors of the employee and must be documented accordingly.
*Supervisor Training Information
Return to Duty
Subsequent to completing treatment after a positive alcohol test and being released by a DOT qualified SAP to the employer, an employee can return to safety-sensitive duties after the employer ensures that a return to duty test is administered and a verified negative result is received.
Follow-Up
Upon receipt of a negative Return to Duty test, the employer must direct the driver to complete at least 6 unannounced follow-up tests in addition to required random and post-accident testing during the first 12 months back at work after completing treatment. the DOT qualified SAP will provide the employer with a schedule for testing. The SAP may require more than 6 tests for longer than the 12 month period.
Alcohol Testing Procedure
Federal testing regulations require that an evidential breath testing device (EBT) approved by the NHTSA be used for alcohol testing. This machine must be operated by a trained breath alcohol technician (BAT) following the procedures set forth in CFR 40 subpart C. The employer shall keep a current copy of the BAT certification on file as proof of required training.
Breath alcohol tests are performed by having the donor blow forcefully into the EBT’s mouthpiece for at least 6 seconds or until the EBT indicates that an adequate amount of breath has been attained. If the result is less than 0.02, the test is considered negative.
If the result is 0.02 or greater, a confirmation test must be performed after a waiting period of at least 15 minutes. The confirmation test must be completed within 30 minutes from the completion of the original screening test. A new mouthpiece must be used and the EBT must be tested to assure proper registering.
The BAT shall report all results to the employer in a confidential manner. This report may be in writing, in person, or by telephone or electronic means. If the result is positive, the BAT must ensure immediate reporting of the results to the employer to prevent the employee from performing a safety-sensitive function.
Exceptions: Non-evidential screen devices may be used for the alcohol test, providing they are approved by the NHTSA. If a test conducted by one of these devices is positive, the donor must have a confirmation test performed using an EBT device within 30 minutes.
Consequences of a Positive Alcohol Test
A test is considered to be positive under any of the following situations:
- A confirmation result of 0.04 or greater
- Refusal to complete and sign the breath alcohol testing form
- Refusal to provide breath
- Refusal to provide an adequate amount of breath
- Refusal to otherwise cooperate with the testing process
Employees testing positive for any of the above reasons shall be subject to the following disciplinary action(s):
- If the company policy requires termination, the employee may be terminated must must still be referred to a DOT qualified Substance Abuse Professional. Go to www.saplist.com to locate one.
- If the company wishes to continue an employment relationship with the employee, the employee must be removed from safety-sensitive functions and referred to a substance abuse professional for evaluation and treatment. If there is a non-safety-sensitive job available, the employee may be allowed to work in that function until evaluation, treatment, and a return-to-duty test have been completed.
Circumstantial Provisions
An employee testing between 0.02 and 0.04 shall be suspended from safety-sensitive functions for at least 24 hours following administration of the test.