Drug Testing Q

You may have misunderstood what I posted.

They now check (query) the drivers status during every inspection now. It became mandatory early on this year. Prior to this year it wasn’t mandatory that they check.

 

No misunderstanding. It has been CVSA practice, as documented in inspection bulletin 2020-02, revsied in 2021, to check for prohibited status since 2020. This isn't new this year, it had been part of level I and III inspections for a few years for CDL drivers. They only check status, not if a driver had ever had a query completed by their employer. At roadside they are focused on only if an unresolved positive result has been reported to the Clearinghouse that resulted in the driver being prohibited

That said, not all motor carrier officers are using the QC program, instead they are relying on the CDLIS record which is not always up to date, and a few still use only their state database which does not meet the guidelines of CVSA Operational Policy for verification of CDL status or Clearinghouse status.

There are two new developments, both very recent. The first is requiring state driver license agencies to downgrade a CDL if the driver is in prohibited status. The other is for roadside enforcement to check Clearinghouse status for CDL/CLP holders that are not driving a CDL required vehicle at the time of the inspection, but are engaging in interstate commerce in a small commercial vehicle. Checking drivers when operating non-cdl vehicles had not been standard practice until recently.

 

I must have misunderstood what I read. What you posted definitely makes sense.

 

A quick way to get the point across, the fine for using a CDL driver in a 'safety sensitive' position is very large and gets applied for every day they use the driver; and as I pointed out above, there is no opportunity to negotiate a reduction in the fine.

So for the 5 years you have worked @ an average of 220 workdays per year that a 4 or 5 digit fine X 1100 days!

Your state motor truck association should be able to help them find someone to sort this all out.

New carrier audits started over 5 years ago so sometime. somewhere they should have been legal to keep the DOT number and make their insurance happy.