The Trucking Alliance made headway in getting the federal government to consider including hair follicle testing results in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse database.
“My clients have knowledge of hundreds of thousands of positive drug tests that they’re not able to share under the current system, and those drivers are all out on the road right now,” Rob Moseley, an attorney representing the organization, reportedly said. “This exemption would give motor carriers making inquiries into the clearinghouse the opportunity to have full knowledge of habitual drug users during the hiring process.”
Comprised of industry-leading freight carriers such as J.B. Hunt, Schneider, Swift Transportation, and many others, the Trucking Alliance is a non-partisan advocacy organization designed to “advance safety reforms that can reduce and ultimately achieve zero large truck crash fatalities.” The outfit has run the possibility of hair follicle drug testing by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in the past.
Although hair follicle drug testing is lawful under the FAST Act, signed into law by Pres. Obama in 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services has yet to finalize testing guidelines. But with tentative guidance in place since 2020, the FMCSA appears willing to at least review the possibility of expanding into hair follicle tests.
According to a Federal Register post, the FMCSA is considering an exemption that would allow Trucking Alliance members to publish independent hair follicle test results in the national Clearinghouse database. The move revolves around trucking companies with “actual knowledge” of failed hair follicle tests. The request would effectively change “the definition of actual knowledge to include the employer’s knowledge of a driver’s positive hair test, which would require such results be reported to the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse and to inquiring carriers.”
This type of testing can determine whether a trucker used or came in contact with federally banned substances over the previous 90 days. Some fear it could sideline more than 100,000 CDL professionals who use marijuana products in states where they are legal during off-duty hours and vacations. In fact, a study released by the University of Central Arkansas indicates hundreds of thousands could be sidelined.
“This research examines trucking industry data and finds about 300,000 truck drivers would be removed from their positions if forced to pass a hair drug test. Hair testing opponents argue that the test is biased against ethnic minority groups. Comparing urine and hair pass/fail rates for various ethnic groups, our results indicate ethnic groups are significantly different irrespective of testing procedure,” the study states.
The Arkansas study strongly advocates including hair follicle testing based on its “rigor.” The FMCSA’s willingness to request comments in the Federal Register is likely a precursor the Clearinghouse would include this data at some point.
But the pertinent question regarding impairment is not necessarily being addressed. How does the trucking industry or federal government weigh 90-day-old recreational use of marijuana or CBD while off-duty in a state where it’s legal?
Sources:
https://truckingalliance.org/
FMCSA takes on request to allow hair tests into drug clearinghouse
https://www.ccjdigital.com/regulations/article/15296030/group-requests-hair-drug-test-results-be-reported-to-clearinghouse
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