We have a number of seasonal employers who lay off some or all of their employees during the “off season”, what do we do about the random drug and alcohol testing program?
How do seasonal employers work with a random drug and alcohol testing program?
For non-regulated employers, you have some discretion. We have a couple of employers who simply do their random testing in 3 of the 4 quarters of the year. A couple of contractors test in Q2, Q3 and Q4. Another employer, whose employees have the summer off, tests in Q1, Q2 and Q4.
But if you have DOT- regulated employees, you need to abide by the federal regulations. The guidance for school bus drivers is helpful in figuring out the best strategy,
If a covered employee is not available and not in the consortium pool for 30+ days, s/he will need a pre-employment test when re-hired. Some of our seasonal employers keep their drivers in a sesaonal pool and get them tested if selected. Others take them out and test on re-hire. The first quarter ends 3/31, so if they are back on 3/1, you still have till the end of the month to test them.
Here is the rule:
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/part-382/section-382.301#p-382.301(b)(1)
The following is from here: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/drug-alcohol-testing/must-all-drivers-who-do-not-work-extended-period-time-such-layoffs
Question 4: Must all drivers who do not work for an extended period of time (such as layoffs over the winter or summer months) be pre-employment drug tested each season when they return to work?
Guidance: If the driver is considered to be an employee of the company during the extended (layoff) period, a pre-employment test would not be required so long as the driver has been included in the company’s random testing program during the layoff period. However, if the driver was not considered to be an employee of the company at any point during the layoff period, or was not covered by a program, or was not covered for more than 30 days, then a pre-employment test would be required.
This is the guidance for school bus drivers.
Must school bus drivers be pre-employment tested after they return to work after summer vacation in each year in which they do not drive for 30 consecutive days?
Guidance: A school bus driver whom the employer expects to return to duty the next school year does not have to be pre-employment tested so long as the driver has remained in the random selection pool over the summer. There is deemed to be no break in employment if the driver is expected to return in the fall.
On the other hand, if the driver is taken out of all U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) random pools for more than 30 days, the exception to pre-employment drug testing in §382.301 would be unavailable and a drug test would have to be administered after the summer vacation.
Please let us know if you have questions.
