DOT Rule Permits Oral-Fluid Specimen Testing for Medication – Security & Compliance

It’s been a very long time within the works, however the U.S. Division of Transportation has revealed a remaining rule that amends the federal regulated business drug-testing program to incorporate oral fluid specimen testing as an alternative choice to urinalysis.

This adjustment goals to alleviate privateness considerations over the gathering of urine samples when it comes to constitutional protections towards invasive searches and seizures.

“This extra methodology for drug testing will give employers a selection that can assist fight worker dishonest on urine drug checks and supply a much less intrusive technique of reaching the security targets of this system,” DOT acknowledged in its discover, to be revealed within the Federal Register for Might 2, 2023.

One other Delay from HHS

Whereas the ultimate rule is efficient 30 days from date of publication, DOT clarified that earlier than an employer might implement oral fluid testing, the Division of Well being and Human Providers (DHHS) might want to certify no less than two laboratories to deal with the testing.

There have to be one HHS-certified laboratory to conduct the screening and affirmation drug testing on the first specimen. And there have to be a distinct HHS-certified laboratory to conduct cut up specimen drug testing on the secondary specimen, if the worker requests cut up specimen testing for a non-negative end result. As of now, DOT acknowledged that “HHS has not but licensed any laboratories to conduct oral fluid testing.”

The rule permits employers to make use of oral fluid testing as an alternative of urine testing — it doesn’t require that they achieve this. As a substitute, the goal is to afford employers flexibility in the kind of specimen they accumulate.

As DOT sees it, that flexibility will present key advantages. For instance, when an employer determines {that a} DOT post-accident or an inexpensive trigger/ suspicion take a look at is required, oral fluid assortment could possibly be performed on the scene of the accident or incident. The gathering could possibly be performed by any oral fluid collector certified underneath Half 40 — both an exterior contractor or a DOT-regulated firm worker. Additionally, there are fewer necessities for oral fluid assortment websites.

Neither is the company proposing to eradicate urine testing. There are completely different home windows of detection that employers ought to take into account when deciding whether or not to make use of a urine take a look at or an oral fluid take a look at as the popular type of testing for any particular take a look at purpose, together with the window of detection. In all probability the most important distinction within the testing window is for marijuana. The oral fluid testing window for hashish is barely as much as about 24 hours; for urine testing, it’s wherever from 3 to 67 days.

Detecting Current Drug Use vs. Figuring out a Sample

If an employer is seeking to detect latest drug use, (i.e., affordable trigger/suspicion, post-accident), the extra instant window of detection related to oral fluid specimens could also be acceptable for the corporate. Nevertheless, if an employer is seeking to detect a sample of intermittent drug use via pre-employment, random, return-to-duty, and follow-up testing, the delayed home windows of detection afforded by urine samples could also be most popular.

The benefit of oral fluid assortment, in accordance with DOT, is that it may be straight noticed, versus most urine collections, that are unobserved.

“We acknowledge straight noticed urine specimen collections have lengthy been the simplest technique for stopping people from dishonest on their drug checks by substituting or adulterating their specimens, however straight noticed urine assortment might solely be performed in sure circumstances resulting from worker privateness considerations,” DOT acknowledged within the remaining rule.

“All oral fluid collections are straight noticed as a result of they’re at all times collected in entrance of the collector,” the division added. “In contrast to a straight noticed urine assortment, an oral fluid assortment is way much less intrusive on the examined worker’s privateness. Subsequently, including oral fluid testing as an possibility is per the cautious balancing of a person’s proper to privateness with the Division’s robust curiosity in preserving transportation security by deterring illicit drug use.”

Different Drug-Testing Strategies: Lengthy Time Coming

DOT and HHS have been investigating various drug-testing strategies for years. In 2004, HHS requested for feedback on straight noticed various testing strategies: oral fluid, hair, and sweat testing.

Within the remaining rule, DOT observes that HHS discovered “issues with all three of the proposed various matrices however requested for extra scientific info and sought info on acceptable ranges for proficiency testing for these alternate options.”

Based on DOT, whereas the science supporting oral fluid testing “didn’t meet the requirements of HHS in 2004, science and analysis research have now reached the purpose the place HHS has been capable of decide that oral fluid testing is an acceptable alternate testing technique for figuring out illicit drug use within the Federal office.”

Hair Testing for Medication Stays Out There

Hair-testing, nevertheless, stays out of authorized attain. A 2020 HHS proposal to determine requirements for using hair testing for medicine was roundly criticized by hair-testing advocates inside the trucking business as a result of it could have required one other pattern, similar to urine or oral, as a backup.

A trucking group advocating steadily for hair-testing is The Alliance for Driver Security & Safety.

“The oral-fluid drug take a look at is efficient if an employer suspects a driver is at the moment drug- or alcohol-impaired,” Lane Kidd, managing director of The Alliance, informed HDT. “However oral fluid testing isn’t efficient at detecting illicit drug use in a pre-employment or random testing scenario.” 

Kidd stated that’s as a result of “an oral fluid take a look at will solely determine drug use if an individual has taken the drug inside the earlier 5 to 48 hours. That’s a shorter window than the DOT urinalysis.”

Alternatively, he stated, “Oral fluid testing could possibly be efficient, nevertheless, if regulation enforcement makes use of the take a look at on the scene of a giant truck crash. That’s as a result of about two-thirds of all truck drivers concerned in a deadly truck crash by no means take a post-accident drug take a look at. An oral fluid take a look at could possibly be simply administered on the crash scene.”

The Alliance nonetheless holds that “a hair drug take a look at is way and away one of the simplest ways to search out out if a truck driver has a daily illicit drug behavior. Our knowledge present that 9 out of 10 illicit drug customers truly go their DOT urinalysis.”

The American Trucking Associations has not replied to HDT’s request for touch upon the oral fluid testing remaining rule.