A new bill is being introduced that would allow the Department of Transportation to recognize hair testing as an acceptable method of drug screening.
Currently, while hair testing is allowed, the only federally accepted method that meets federal pre-employment and random drug testing standards is a urine test. This means that if companies want to be more thorough with their screening, they must spend money on both the basic urine test, and on the more advanced hair test.
Because of this added cost, most carriers don’t bother with hair testing. Some still do, hoping to weed out potential drivers who use illegal drugs, but stop for long enough to show up negative on a urine test. Hair testing is said to be a much more effective form of drug testing since it will result in a positive even if the drug use was a long time ago.
Changing the regulations to allow hair samples to count toward the mandatory testing would drastically reduce the cost of more in-depth screening, most likely making it much more common.
The bill is receiving support from the American Trucking Association, the Alliance for Driver Safety & Security, and many individual commercial carriers.
“This legislation will improve highway safety and protect the reputations of the safe and professional commercial drivers by removing those with a life style of drug use from behind the wheel of large trucks,” said Greer Woodruff, senior vice president of corporate safety and security for J.B. Hunt said to Fleetowner.
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Source: overdrive, fleetowner
Cliff Downing says
It may be the “default” screening over time, but it really doesn’t mean anything. It can’t document whether a person has used or is currently using any illegal substance in the last 24 hrs. It is a long term thing that shows if they used up to 4-6 months previous, which is essentially stupid. I see the lawyers already warming up in the bullpen over this one. Scenario: a driver gets hair tested and shows he used pot. But, he is from a state than de-criminalized pot, and he used it prior to going to truck driving school or knowing that he would. He then did the school and now is applying for a job and gets hair tested. Carrier says no way, the lawyers get to have a field day. Driver candidate now is is Federal drug clearing data base, carrier is going to get all kinds of legal grief, and driver candidate now gets to sit at home living on monetary compensation for defamation of character or whatever. Why carriers would even want to go down this route is difficult to understand. Urine and blood testing has worked just fine for decades to show current use, which is more critical.
Jason says
Exactly. So I smoked pot in high school. Who didnt? But that was 15 years ago. Why should I be penalized for being a normal kid?
Salty Lad says
You haven’t cut your hair in 15 years, and you can still get a job? It only shows up in hair that grew while you had the drug in your system, and they(currently) only test the last 6 months worth, anyway.
John mcnamara says
If this goes through I think we will see a whole lot of bald truckers with shaved armpits.
jc says
Wow! It’s bad enough we sit in their prison cells with wheels, now they want to control every aspect of us while we aren’t in the rolling jail cell.
next thing you know they will put cameras in trucks, oh wait, they already do at some companies.
Todd says
It’s big business pushing this bill, the companies that will financially benefit from this are pushing it.
Another problem they haven’t discussed is the bald guys. There are guys that shave their heads and their bodies. Are they going to get discriminated against because they choose to shave their bodies? Far as I’m concerned it’s a violation of said persons rights if they are told they have to grow hair for testing when there are other options that have proven to work for several years. So I agree, the lawyers are already getting in the bull pen to pounce on companies. If I was a company I would pass on the hair testing.
Steve Bell says
I think body hair will work just as well…Not many folks have no hair at all?
Salty Lad says
He mentioned shaved bodies. Swimmers, for instance, shave EVERYTHING.
Rick Hays says
How many professional swimmers do you see driving a semi?
Rob says
Currently, if you have shaved your entire body and there is no medical reasoning for you to do so they consider it a refusal to test.
brian says
I hope this does not pass. I had a positive hair follicle come back on me and I don’t ever smoke pot. I live with someone that does for medical ressons. So to me the test are unreliable to be used. I was out a job and money for all the retests to try and prove myself.
Paul Walker says
I was in the same situation someone I know smoked pcp basically dipping a marijuana blunt into embalming fluid and smoking it I was around him and the smoke got on my hair and tested positive but urine came back negative and tried to tell them I never did pcp in my life guess what the doctor would not even retest me
R.B. says
Total bummer if a driver, like myself, has had a crew cut all their life.
When fuel shot up to $4/gal, I parked my truck and began applying for positions as a company driver. I was told during my physical for a VERY Large national carrier that operates orange trucks, ( can you guess) that my hair was too short for the drug test.
The physical provider, Concentra, contacted the recruiter.
I was told, on the spot, that I was no longer being consider for employment.
This despite NEVER having had a DUI and no tickets for 18 years.
For guys my age, (58 y/o) who would have ever considered that having hair down to ones ass
would be a career enhancer?????
Mike R says
I have shaved my head for the last 20 years. I hope the Doc is a cute girl because she is going to need to pluck a hair from the lower region.
Rob says
Strange, since I am bald I have had them shave some of my arm hair with no problems.
Larry says
Roehl Transport does this to every new hire. 1st day for students, they transport you to the doctors office for hair and urine test. If you show positive, you have to prove it was doctor prescribed. No law suites that I’m aware of.
Salty Lad says
Schneider, as well.
stupor_trucker says
What grounds would you have to sue? You submit to these things voluntarily, if you submit to them at all. And don’t forget, half the states are now “Right to Fire” states. You no longer have any rights as a worker.
If enough people refused to submit, things would change. But, if you had other options, you probably wouldn’t have gone into trucking in the first place.
Donald says
What do you mean doctors prescription? I thought it was for illegal drugs.
Slim Davis says
Buzz cuts will be the new style for truck drivers 🙂
stupor_trucker says
What people do in their free time should be no concern of an employer. It would make more sense to test for alcohol use, as that is the leading cause of accidents, by far and away. But, when they test for booze, they are testing whether you are intoxicated right now, not a week, or six months ago. I find that acceptable, and more to the point, actually useful. Aside from the obvious hypocrisy, this hair test is yet another unwarranted intrusion into our privacy.
What amazes me is that carriers continue to whine about a “driver shortage” while they do everything in their power to make the job as undesirable as possible. Personally, I’ve about had enough.
aj says
I shave my head and went threw a hair test. The just shave elsewhere.
mike says
i’m too busy for this nonsense…i want a law so i can just leave my underwear at the test site….
Kai says
And for us women, they cut too much hair off and it becomes an issue to me. Others may not notice a clump of missing hair, but I do.
Kevin says
Those who are voting on this bill should be subjected to the same testing first…
alex says
I like to know how this will work for women or any one that bleaches or dye their hair often or per m uch save off their body hair off. Hair test will not work for them.
Marc says
Lots of good comments are made here.
My point would be, wouldn’t it be nice if a random screen wasn’t such a pain?
Walk into a clinic, show I.D., have them cut a sample, be on with the day.
just sayin
Geno says
I have no problem with hair testing but as a one truck oo I’m not paying the additional cost for the testing.
Cyndi says
For men, they take all the under arm hair off. I been waiting to get truck and had both tests. And asked a snieder driver how they get hair from man, that is bald, or don’t have much hair, when I was at dr. office to get my test, and he told me.
Paul says
I work for a major carrier that does hair testing. There is a lot of misinformation about hair testing. Understand that hair testing is NOT hair follicle testing. The hair test being administered today by the trucking companies will only go back 90 days. Hair testing will uncover all drugs, illegal and legal, in the system in the past 90 days. If a prescription drug is discovered the driver will need to produce the prescription. Be aware, as an example, if the driver has taken prescription pain medication that belonged to a spouse the driver will be eliminated from employment.
This bill is about the DOT recognizing the hair test as a standard for pre-employment drug testing. Currently ONLY urine testing is considered the standard. What that means is that a driver can pass a urine test but fail a hair test and the company can not report the failed test to the drivers public record. The driver will be eliminated from employment at that company only.
Paul Walker says
Thanks for clearing that up