
Frequently Asked Questions
The following are some of our most commonly asked questions, but do not hesitate to contact us with any additional questions.
Although being certified drug- and alcohol-free greatly benefits your company, the management of the policies, regulations, and more can be very cumbersome and tedious. A partnership with our company will allow you to rely on the expertise of a trained team to manage the program for you.
Internally, we classify our clients as DOT and non-DOT. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) rules apply to transportation employees working in, but not limited to, aviation, trucking, railroads, mass transit, pipelines, and other transportation industries. Non-DOT companies would include those that report to other regulatory bodies or companies that choose to implement a program on their own volition.
“Understanding your responsibility as an employer or individual is pertinent to implementing a successful drug and alcohol compliance program.”
Furthermore, employers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), state driver licensing agencies, and state law enforcement personnel have access to real-time information related to commercial driver’s license and commercial learner’s permit holders’ drug and alcohol program violations.
- SDLAs must not issue, renew, upgrade, or transfer a commercial driver’s license (CDL), or commercial learner’s permit (CLP), as applicable, for any individual prohibited under FMCSA’s regulations. These individuals may not receive updated licenses or permits to perform safety-sensitive functions or drive a commercial motor vehicle following or more more program violations.
- SDLAs must, upon receipt of notification that a driver is prohibited from operating a CMV due to a drug and alcohol program violation, initiate the downgrade process to remove the CLP or CDL privilege from the driver’s license within 60 days.
- Drivers completing the return-to-duty process before the downgrade process is completed would no longer be prohibited from operating a CMV and thus would no longer be subject to a downgrade.
- SDLAs have until November 18, 2024 (compliance date) to comply with these requirements. In addition, FMCSA extends the compliance date for the requirement that SDLAs query the Clearinghouse prior to issuing, renewing, upgrading, or transferring a CDL from January 6, 2023 to November 18, 2024. SDLAs currently have the option to voluntarily query the Clearinghouse and may do so up until the compliance date.
However in the event of a pre-employment, return-to-duty, or follow-up test, the driver must submit to a recollection. For these three test types, the regulations require that an employee has a negative result before performing safety-sensitive duties.
