DOT Adds Oral Fluid Drug Testing for Truck Drivers
A May 2023 final rule let employers choose oral fluid instead of urine for DOT drug tests, once two labs were certified to run them.
In May 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) added oral fluid testing to its workplace drug testing program, the program that covers truck and bus drivers who need a commercial driver's license. A final rule published on May 2, 2023, took effect on June 1, 2023. It amended DOT's testing procedures in 49 CFR part 40 and made matching changes to the rules of FMCSA and other DOT agencies.
A second specimen option
Until the rule, DOT-regulated drug tests used urine. The final rule let employers choose either urine or oral fluid. The one exception was the Federal Railroad Administration's post-accident toxicological testing, which still required other specimens.
DOT gave two main reasons. It said oral fluid testing would help combat cheating on urine drug tests, and that it would be a less intrusive way to meet the program's safety goals. The department pointed out that every oral fluid collection is directly observed, because the specimen is always collected in front of the collector. Directly observed urine collections, by contrast, could be done only in limited circumstances because of privacy concerns.
The rule followed a proposal published in February 2022 and was designed to line up with mandatory guidelines for oral fluid testing that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had already set for federal workplace programs.
Not usable right away
The rule's effective date did not mean employers could switch to oral fluid in June. DOT said an employer could implement oral fluid testing only when at least two laboratories had been certified by HHS for it: one to screen and confirm the primary specimen, and a different one to test the split specimen if an employee asked for it after a non-negative result. As of publication, HHS had not certified any laboratories for oral fluid testing.
DOT also reminded employers why the second lab mattered. If an employee asked for a split specimen test and no second certified laboratory existed to run it, a positive, adulterated or substituted result would be cancelled.
Observed collections
The February 2022 proposal had floated letting a licensed or certified medical professional of a different gender observe a urine collection when a same-gender observer could not be found. Most commenters on that point opposed it, and DOT did not adopt it.
Instead, the department pointed to oral fluid as the fix. When a directly observed urine collection was required, the burden stayed on the employer to supply a same-gender observer if the collection site could not, or to allow an oral fluid test. DOT said employers could set up a standing order directing that observed collections be done as oral fluid, so the collector would not have to call the employer each time.
Roadside tests are different
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association asked DOT to keep educating the industry and to address the difference between roadside oral fluid drug tests run by state and local police and DOT's laboratory-based tests. DOT said it would continue its outreach and noted that police roadside testing falls outside the DOT program.
DOT also stressed that its program was about deterrence, not impairment. Oral fluid may give a better picture of recent drug use, the department said, but it also detects frequent users, and there is no definitive test for drug impairment.
Archive: this article describes rules and events as of May 2023. Regulations may have changed since, so check the current rule before relying on it.