What a nightmare. I'd been laid off my oilfield job for the second time & I'd had enough. They called it reduction in force but honestly I was at the top off my payscale & there's alot cheaper labor in Texas to be had than an old roughneck like me. I've almost been killed on a drilling rig & got my share of stitches from it all & I still have all my fingers & it all counted for nothing. I've always wanted to be a truck driver but raising a family came first. The children are grown & my wife agrees that I've paid my dues & should finally be able to live that dream. In Oct. 2006 I started school for Stevens Transport as a trainee in Houston Tx. The first day we all took our physical & drug test & that afternoon I passed all the DPS written exams with a 93% grade. On the third morning after half the class had already been dropped (we started with 31, mostly desperate Katrina victims & a few who couldn't speak english.) I was called to the classroom phone & told by the doctor that I was positive for marijuana to which I replied that I wanted a retest. After a long silence, he hung up on me. I was in shock, numb from head to toe. I don't smoke pot & was certain I had been mixed up with someone else. Driving home I kept thinking about old Job from the Bible, how everything he had was taken from him. In no way am I saying I'm like old Job but I DON'T SMOKE POT! When I got home I called Robert at Stevens & told him what happened & that I would like a retest. He told me not to worry about it because I could start again in six months. Since my daughter & her baby live with us I decided to wait the 6 months & enjoy the baby. A rare bit of time off for ol' dad. Well I reapplied after 6 months & was told Stevens has a zero policy for drugs & I was disqualified. I got ahold of Robert, who never calls you back & puts you on hold until you have to just hang up & he said he would straighten it all out. After a couple days I realized he was ducking me so I applied with some other companies (something Robert had asked me not to do). I have an excellant driving record, no tickets, wrecks or anything & no criminal record, but guess what kids, I have on my DAC record that Stevens Transport dropped me for failing a drug test. Call me ignorant but I don't even know what a DAC is. No company will even talk to me now. I was furious & should 've known better but I got ahold of Robert # Stevens & he put me on hold while he pulled my DAC. When the phone finally picked up again it was a fellow named Dennis who was on speaker with Robert. He said they were within their legal right on the DAC thing. I asked about a retest because I was ready to test anywhere, anytime & he said I could only get that from the same sample & it was to late for that. I told him I had asked Robert for a retest that day & was told not to worry about it, just reapply later, save some money. With my own ears I heard Robert lie to this Dennis that he never told me that. I have never wanted to whip somebodys ##! like I wanted to whip his just then. Dennis then said they don't hire drug addicts & that they will never remove this from my DAC. I went online & found out that Ibuprophen shows positive for marijauna. After years in the oilfield I have a habit of taking three of these every morning & three again in the afternoon. Being banged around so much does take its toll on your body. I'm sick of writting all this now but I'm really reaching out to anyone who may have some advice. I want to be a truck driver, just not for Stevens. Please excuse the long story.

What a horrible experience. I wish that I had an answer for you, but I'm sure someone else around here will point you in the right direction.

Read this. [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.

Look for the part about split samples under HOW IS DRUG TESTING DONE?
Hope this helps.

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My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!

That sucks!!

Man, I want to thank you. That was good direction. I'm going to fight them. If they wanted a fight, they picked the right person. Let him call me a drug addict to my face.

You are welcome. Good luck!

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My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!

So does this mean they cant legally put it on your DAC?

ARE DRIVER DRUG TESTING RECORDS CONFIDENTIAL?
Yes. Driver drug testing results and records are maintained under strict confidentiality by the employer, the drug-testing laboratory, and the medical review officer. They cannot be released to others without the written consent of the driver. Exceptions to these confidentiality provisions are limited to a decision maker in arbitration, litigation or administrative proceedings arising from a positive drug test. Statistical records and reports are maintained by employers and drug testing laboratories. This information is aggregated data and is used to monitor compliance with the rules and to assess the effectiveness of the drug testing programs.

The problem is when you put in an AP you sign a DAC release to allow them to release it to third parties.

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My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!

Catch-22? On the same subject, I have read of applicants putting a line through that part of an ap, initialing next to the line andsigning the application.

I have come to the conclusion that any double-talk on any employment document will be reviewed by an attorney before I sign it.

I don't now work for a company that uses DAC, and never have, the catch here is to get a job that pays the bills without experience, there are jobs available, but they are difficult to find. I'm not sure what employment resources you have available in TX, someone else should be able to help with that. In Iowa, you would be considered a displaced worker, and would get considerable aid in finding another line of work.

What they did to you is not right, including a lab that would test you positive for Canabis, when you used Ibuprofen.
I used to use far more Ibuprofen than that, and advised the labs to that effect, no false positive was ever found for me, I've never tested positive for anything.

Every time I do a random or pre-employment screening, the chain of custody gets a little tighter, they are having problems, or this wouldn't be occurring.

[quote=25(2)+2;193134]Catch-22? On the same subject, I have read of applicants putting a line through that part of an ap, initialing next to the line andsigning the application.
quote]


I have a post on here somewhere stating this. A friend of mine told me about it. Problem is some companies won't hire you if you do this. There is always something somewhere to trip a driver up.

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My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!