Home time and drinking.

Are we talking about a completely different thing than the ops post now? As far as I'm aware, the thread is about alcohol testing....

Don't want to be shown wrong, so have to change the subject?

 

Hold those horses a minute. If a driver is on duty they can't refuse to test for a for cause alcohol test. However if you are at home and off duty a refusal to go blow is NOT a refusal that disqualifies you.

Edited: Don't confuse random with for cause testing. Not the same.

 

Yes, the thread has morphed a bit!

 

What ?

 

Sorry, i should have elaborated. My post pertains to drug testing.

 

I think the regulatory guidance section of 382.305 can shed some light on some of the questions asked in here.

Question 1: Is a driver who is on-duty, but has not been assigned a driving task, considered to be ready to perform a safety-sensitive function as defined in §382.107 subjecting the driver to random alcohol testing?
Guidance: A driver must be about to perform, or immediately available to perform, a safety-sensitive function to be considered subject to random alcohol testing. A supervisor, mechanic, or clerk, etc., who is on call to perform safety-sensitive functions may be tested at any time they are on call, ready to be dispatched while on-duty.

Question 10: If an employee is off work due to temporary lay-off, illness, injury or vacation, should that individual’s name be removed from the random pool?
Guidance: No. The individual’s name should not be removed from the random pool so long as there is a reasonable expectation of the employee’s return.

Question 17: May an employer notify a driver of his/her selection for a random controlled substances test while the driver is in an off-duty status?
Guidance:
Yes. Part 382 does not prohibit an employer form notifying a driver of his/her selection for a random controlled substances test while the driver is in an off-duty status.
If an employer selects a driver for a random controlled substances test while the driver is in an off-duty status, and then chooses to notify the driver that he/she has been selected while the driver is still off-duty, the employer must ensure that the driver proceeds immediately to a collection site. Immediately, in this context, means that all the driver’s actions, after notification, lead to an immediate specimen collection. If the employer’s policy or practice is to notify drivers while they are in an off-duty status, the employer should make that policy clear to all drivers so that they are fully informed of their obligation to proceed immediately to a collection site.
If an employer does not want to notify the driver that he/she has been selected for a random controlled substances test while the driver is in an off-duty status, the employer could set aside the driver’s name for notification until the driver returns to work, as long as the driver returns to work before the next selection for random testing is made.
Employers should note that regardless of when a driver is notified, the time the driver spends traveling to and from the collection site, and all time associated with providing the specimen, must be recorded as on-duty time for purposes of compliance with the hours-of-service rules.

Question 21: If a driver has been notified of his/her selection of random drug and/or alcohol testing and the testing cannot be completed because of “unforeseeable obstacles” at the collection site (i.e. collection site closed, collector unavailable when driver shows up, emergency such as a fire, natural disaster, etc…), what is the carrier’s responsibility?
Guidance: In accordance with §382.305(i)(3) and §382.305(l), each driver selected for testing shall be tested during the selection period; and upon notification of selection for random alcohol and/or drug testing proceed to the collection site immediately. In instances of “unforeseeable obstacles” the driver shall immediately contact the employer’s DER for instructions to an alternative collection site. These “unforeseeable obstacles” do not negate the employer’s responsibility of ensuring that the required test be administered.

 

Huh...learn something new every day. I'd be inclined to not interrupt my vacation...unless, of course they not only paid me no less than $25/hour from the time of the call until I return to my regularly scheduled vacation (not just "complete the test", but get back to whatever it was I was doing when I was so rudely interrupted) AND my vacation would be extended by a day (because it ISN'T a "vacation day" if I had to work during any part of it.

All the more reason to screen your phone calls, avoiding work calls while you're on vacation. Call them back the evening before you're set to return to work...any questions about why you didn't answer or call them back, "I was out of town, and just got settled back in here at the house. This is my 'work' phone, and I was on vacation...so it was left at home so as not to misplace it."

 

One reason to never answer your phone when you’re off duty and your employer calls.

 

We are both correct. You are citing the Federal Regulations which is .04, some states go by this, some do not. In Alabama for example it is .02 as stated below. If your involved in an accident even if your below this level you CAN be charged with DUI..even if you have so much as a hint of alcohol in your system..

Alabama DUI Laws and Penalties

 

With all the different prefixes and robo calls I never know who is calling until after I answer.