If you are planning to do a random drug and alcohol testing during a weekend safety meeting, here is what you should know: you can do a Drug test, yes. Alcohol test, no. Since drug use is prohibited at all times, you can conduct random drug tests at any time. But Random alcohol tests must [...]

Why are some people randomly tested more than once?"Am I being singled out? I just did a random last month? Mike never gets tested. I don’t think this thing is random at all!”Those are not uncommon concerns among some safety-sensitive employees, and many employers have been challenged in court to demonstrate that their programs [...]

No. The employee who was randomly selected for random drug tests must be tested. You cannot get an alternate selection or send another employee simply because an individual has been selected multiple times. The DOT regulations require it and the integrity of your random drug testing program depends on it.

If your wondering if you can tell the driver on Friday afternoon that he has to go for a Random drug test before work on Monday the short answer is: No. You are not to provide any advanced notification of a Random selection. The key to Random testing is that the tests are unannounced.

This one can be complicated. If the employee is not presently working and available to perform safety-sensitive functions, he should not go for testing at this time. Document the reason and select an alternate. If the individual is driving, or available to drive, did the prescribing physician know that he drives for a living? The [...]

If you have a reasonable suspicion that a DOT-regulated safety-sensitive employee may be using drugs, you are to send him for a Reasonable Suspicion drug test. Your determination to test must be based on specific, contemporaneous, articulable observations concerning the appearance, behavior, speech or body odors of the employee. The supervisor making the Reasonable-Suspicion determination [...]

Current FMCSA Random testing requirements regarding how many random tests must be done in a calendar year are 50% for drugs and 10% for alcohol. If your drivers are in a consortium pool for Random selections, the group needs to meet the minimum testing requirements for drugs and alcohol. All you need to do [...]

Are you wondering when to send employees for random testing? If you are a client of InOut Labs, your DER will receive an email from us with your selection list for the period. The DER chooses the time to send the employees for testing, and is responsible for completing the tests by the end of [...]

InOut Labs generally selects randoms quarterly (i.e. four times per year). Some clients, however, prefer monthly selection. We also manage a number of seasonal employers for whom we make selections Q2, Q3 and Q4 only. Regardless of how often selections are made, we always make sure that the selection percentages are performed according to the [...]

When random selections are made, your company's Designated Employer Representative (DER) is provided with the list of selected employees. The DER chooses the time for testing within the quarter and notifies each employee at the appropriate time. Your DER is permitted to schedule that testing when it is convenient for your company. Although the employee [...]