Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Drug Testing Regulations In US And Its Requirements

The US government has provided certain regulations to prevent the illegal drug usage in various situations. They permit and regulate the drug testing programs for every individual including, employees, motor drivers, convicts, and others in various situations. As per the regulations given by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Transmit Administration (FTA), drug testing can be performed at roadside to check the drivers using rapid testing devices.

Drug Testing Regulations of DOT
The DOT rules include procedures for urine drug testing and breathe alcohol testing. In the coming years, the implementation of drug and alcohol testing requires various aspects including the changes in testing technology, and the issuance of a number of written interpretations, required OST (Office of the Secretary) to review and revise the rules. The latest rules of the OST were published in the year 2000, which included these aspects with the involvement of public sector.

Regulations of OTETA (Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act)
The regulations under OTETA requires drug and alcohol testing for the transportation employees in aviation, truck, railroads, mass transit, pipelines and other transportation industries for their safe and sensitive driving. DOT publishes rules on who should conduct drug tests, how to conduct those tests and what procedures to use when testing. These regulations cover all transportation employers, safety-sensitive transportation employees and service agents, which counts about 12.1 million people.

Requirements of Drug Testing Regulations
The following are some of the drug testing regulations that are provided by the government bodies of US:
• Before suspecting an employee in an organization, the supervisors have to undergo a minimum of 1-hour training program on signs and symptoms of drug abuse. In case of alcohol testing regulation they have to undergo additional 1-hour training.
• Every candidate applying for an interview has to take a pre-employment drug test and will be qualified if they pass the test.
• The existing employees are required to get the drug testing, to perform their safe and sensitive proceedings. It even states that an employee will be tested randomly when they are on duty.
• The person who gets a drug-test should empty their pockets and show all their belongings to assure that there are no substances that may tamper the test sample.
• For some jobs the applicants has to provide background verification. The company contacts their previous employers and asks to provide paperwork and releases.
The transportation employees require to take the alcohol and drug testing, who are required to have a CDL (Commercial Driving License).

This information gives you an idea about drug testing regulations and their requirements in United States. These regulations are collected from certain organizations like, DOT, OTET, FTA and etc.

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