Alcohol, illegal drugs, or prescription medications – all pose huge risks for all businesses. Therefore, employers pay billions of dollars in healthcare costs, lost productivity, and lawsuits every year.
Even if your company does not need a drug test, keep in mind that most drug abusers are employed. An effective drug testing program will help weed out problems before they become problematic.
Your company’s safety and financial security can be compromised by employee drug and alcohol abuse. Employers, even those that are not regulated, often use Drug and Alcohol screening to reduce their risk. Newport Urgent Care is able to screen employees before they are hired, random test employees, and test employees immediately following a worksite accident (24 hours a day)
In What Ways Are Non-DOT Drug Tests Different from DOT Tests?
The term Non-DOT drug tests refer to a drug test administered to a worker in an industry that is not regulated by the U.S. Transportation Department.
In the world of drug testing, we live in two worlds. One is regulated, and the other is unregulated.
First, industries regulated by the DOT are affected.
The DOT oversees drug tests for people who work as pilots, truck drivers, or train conductors. This would apply to you. Anyone else, in any industry, can still submit to a drug test, but it will not be DOT-regulated. Drug testing done on employees in an unregulated industry is called non-DOT testing.
Non-DOT drug tests are determined by each employer. A drug testing program is managed and run by the employer based on their needs. Established companies have this defined in their drug testing policy. The timing and frequency are the employers’ choice, as is the type of testing. They could Based on applicable legal regulations and considerations, choose whether to test urine, oral fluid, or hair.
Your Company’s Benefit from Newport Urgent Care Drug and Alcohol Screening
- Newport Urgent Care uses E-SCREEN Technology to conduct 5-panel drug screenings. Negative results of a typical 5-panel drug screen will be delivered electronically to your company within 15 minutes. Your company’s ability to quickly respond to job applicants will increase your chances of securing your first choice candidate.
- Optical eReader ™ technology detects test results under seal and leaves no room for human error or procedural error.
- Negative results can be confirmed within 24 hours and electronically delivered to your company.
- Newport Urgent Care is available 24 hours a day for screening drug and alcohol use in the event of an accident or injury at work.
Drug Testing Laws Outside the DOT
There are few federal laws covering non-DOT drug testing, however, state and local laws are more common. Unemployment and workers’ compensation laws also apply to drug test programs. Companies that follow most of these rules earn perks. Following them, for instance, may result in employers receiving discounts on their workers’ comp premiums.
Do Non-DOT Drug Tests Consist of the Following?
In a Non-DOT drug test, either a 5-drug panel or a 10-drug panel is administered. DOT drug tests look for five drugs, and are referred to as 5-panel screens.
- Cannabis
- Marijuana
- Affiliates
- Anamphetamines/methamphetamines
- Phentermine
In a non-DOT drug test, the same five panels can be tested, or five additional drugs can be tested:
- Analgesics
- Barbiturs
- . Anesthetics
- Prophylène
- Cabaludes
In addition to testing for hallucinogens, anabolic steroids, prescription painkillers, and ecstasy, non-DOT employers can also conduct drug tests.
Federal agencies are not required to use oral fluid in their drug testing programs. However, federal agencies can now choose to use urine, oral fluid or any combination thereof, as long as they follow the mandatory guidelines. Federal drug testing programs are used to test for applicants for sensitive positions, people involved in accidents, and individuals for cause.
DOT proposed to adopt oral fluid testing. It stated that oral fluid collection could be performed at the site of an accident or incident if the employer decides that a post accident or reasonable cause-suspicion test are necessary.
How are non-DOT drug tests conducted?
Drug tests are defined by when they are conducted, not by the tests themselves.
Drug tests other than those required by the DOT include:
Before starting a job, many companies require new employees to pass a drug test. It lets you keep habitual drug users out of the workforce. You shouldn’t hire applicants who are unable to stop using long enough to pass a test.
Testing at random: Depending on company needs, these tests may be conducted monthly, quarterly, or even annually. Computer programs are used to generate names at random. Employees don’t know when they’ll be tested, so this prevents them from taking drugs.
After an accident, these tests are usually conducted after a fatality or serious injury, or when workers’ compensation claims are filed. It is important for the employer to know if the individual responsible for the accident was intoxicated.