Pre-Employment Testing Archives

Requirements for Pre-Employment Testing: If a driver is terminated and returns to safety-sensitive functions with the same employer, is the driver subject to a drug and alcohol pre-employment test before returning to work?

If a driver has been removed from a DOT random testing pool for more than 30 days, the employer must give the driver a pre-employment test and a negative test result must be received before the driver may operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). If less than 30 days has passed since the driver was [...]

By Tim Thoelecke|May 26th, 2026|Pre-Employment Testing|Comments Off

The Custody and Control Form for a pre-employment DOT test mistakenly indicated that the test was conducted pursuant to the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) authority. The form should have indicated that the employee was a CDL-driver, being tested pursuant to FMCSA authority. Does this procedural error require the employee to have another pre-employment drug/alcohol test?

No, the driver does not need to be retested. So long as the driver was tested in accordance with Part 40 and the test did not contain any flaws addressed in §40.201 or §40.203, or the error does not have a significant adverse effect on the rights of the employee to have a fair and [...]

By Tim Thoelecke|May 26th, 2026|Pre-Employment Testing|Comments Off

Return-to–duty/Pre-employment Testing: What type of DOT tests must an employer provide in order to hire a driver who has completed the referral and evaluation process with a SAP, but still needs a return-to-duty test before the driver may perform a safety

An employer may give the driver a single DOT drug test that will meet both the requirements of §382.301(pre-employment test) and §382.309 return-to-duty test (RTD). [§382.309, Question 1]. But the single test must be characterized as a DOT return-to-duty and conducted under direct observation.. In other words, a DOT RTD will suffice for a DOT [...]

By Tim Thoelecke|May 26th, 2026|Pre-Employment Testing|Comments Off