Drawn for a drug test, company has not booked it, what happens?

the job i retired from, the boss would call me, and say, "go for a random, when you can, this week".

 

No timeframe is given in the regs. It just says once notified you must report immediately to testing site. That alone is subjective IMO.

Your employer knows well ahead of time. They aren’t supposed to tell you anything except when it’s time to go. But not all employers do it like that or care for that matter.

Notice it said MUST PASS in the message from his company. Thats all they want. Shady.

 

The company develops a list every month to satisfy how many tests they are required to do annually.
The drivers on the list are picked at random according to an approved method.
The company has the list on the 1st, but doesn't have to tell any of the drivers until sometime later.
but once they are told to get the random, it is as @JoeyJunk says, report immediately.

This allows 2 things:
the Company can manage getting the test done without undue burden on day to day operations
But since the test is supposed to be done without any advance warning, it prevents manipulation of the outcome.

The company quoted in the original post is doing is all wrong, effectively evading the entire procedure by letting the driver get clean for a month.
Bet they do many other things not according to the regulations....

 

Here's one for you:

On a trip up to Mass. got a phone call from DM telling me I had been selected for "random drug test," (my first ever "random drug test").

"Drive [tractor-trailer] over to testing facility....about 14 miles away."

I get to the place and no one knows who I am; no appointment. Receptionist tells me I need to "fill out papers for authorization."

Call DM, no answer. Text DM: "This is becoming a bigger pain in the ### by the minute. Call me back ASAP before I just say '#### it' and head for the nearest truck stop." Check ELD. Load waiting for me eighty miles away. I leave (illegally parked in packed shopping mall parking lot next to "testing facility."

An hour later DM texts me: "Sorry, was out to lunch when you called. Did they get that taken care of for you?" (Was unaware of DM text message until after shift that same day. Next day replied to DM text: "No worries, bro, my piss is as pure as the driven snow. DOT can wait for their sample. Let's roll!

A week later I get a call from DM: "Sorry, have to terminate you. You missed a "random drug test."

Fired on the spot, flagged by FMCSA for "refusing 'random drug test.'"

Upon returning home I immediately went to Guthrie Clinic and got comprehensive DOT drug/alcohol test. Both came back NEGATIVE. Filed appeal with FMCSA to have flag removed. Can't appeal flag, "only clerical errors." Trying to find attorney to represent me.

First, Company did not follow DOT reg. Should have told me upon notification of "random drug" test to "immediately stop all 'safety-sensitive' operations" (driving a tractor-trailer over to testing facility). No one, neither the receptionist at "testing facility" nor DM told me I had to stay at testing facility until test complete.

 

You should have stayed right there and not left..this is on you..anyone knows that if you leave the facility before completing drug test is a no no..

 

You're obviously an #######. No, not everyone knows DOT regs re: "random drug testing," especially when DM violates DOT reg 49 CFR § 655.45 - Random testing: “If the employee is performing a safety-sensitive function at the time of the notification,” such as operating a tractor-trailer, “the employer shall instead ensure that the employee ceases to perform the safety-sensitive function and proceeds to the testing site immediately."

Again, no one told me I needed to "stay right there," #######.

 

No my friend. you are the one that committed the missed drug test.
You were clearly told to report for a random test.
the fact that you may be illegally parked, or that there was a load waiting, or your HOS status, or you were impatient about the entire procedure is irrelevant.
You proper action would have been to stay at the facility until the test was done, or receive written instructions (text) from your safety manager, not a dispatcher to do otherwise.
You didn't even wait for the hour for his text response.
And you did it all in writing, leaving a huge paper trail.

More evidence of your desire to evade the test:

they had no choice except to fire you, and your actions make you virtually unemployable in this industry for the immediate future.

By the way, nice try on the cut and paste modification of the actual regulation.
Here is the entire unadulterated Best Practices for DOT drug and alcohol testing from the FMCSA website.
The employer can set a policy to allow operation of a tractor trailer to get to the testing site. (top half of page 5)

https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.dev/files/docs/ODAPC_Random Testing Brochure.pdf

 

Sorry but rules are rules and many of us know them..ignorance of the rules is not a valid excuse..now you’ll have to go thru sap process to even be cleared to drive again.

 

30 days should clear everything. Most drugs are gone from your urine in 48 to 72 hours; except weed which is 30 days for a casual user.

Someone, probably not the one who paid attention during the required training; IF he actually attended said training BUT did instruct the staff how the notifications would be presented to 'avoid any problems'....

With the clearing house working so well, OP needs to do SAP despite the carrier's actions.

Drug and alcohol violation fines, unlike other audit fines, are not negotiable so they do add up quickly.

Untested driver who does safety sensitive activities runs $50,000.00 a day, no quarter given.

10 days = a half milion....

Karma is a stern mistress