LATEST DRUG TESTING NEWS

The 2010 Federal CCF must be used for all federally regulated specimens which will be delivered to a laboratory on or after December 1, 2011.

All federally certified laboratories must treat the use of the 2000 Federal CCF as a correctable discrepancy. If a federally regulated specimen is collected on the 2000 Federal CCF, the collector will have to complete a Certificate of Correction memorandum and attach to the CCF. This will allow the laboratory to proceed with testing without delay.

If a federally regulated specimen is received at the laboratory with a 2000 Federal CCF starting December 1, 2011 and no memorandum is attached, the laboratory will attempt to recover the correctable discrepancy by requesting a Certificate of Correction memorandum from the collection facility via fax. Testing will be delayed until the memorandum is received. If no memorandum is received after five working days, the specimen will be rejected.
 

FMCSA Expects to Release Medical Examiner Registry Final Rule Before Year’s End

This week the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said it expects to release the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (NRCME) Final Rule later this year. The statement was included in a Federal Register posting announcing that FMCSA is seeking public review and comments on core curriculum guidance for medical examiners who conduct DOT physicals.
Released in December 2008, FMCSA’s National Registry proposal calls for the development of a National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners as required by section 4116 of SAFETEA-LU. The proposal includes a provision requiring medical examiners to complete certain training and testing before their information could appear in the NRCME. The training will be developed by private training organizations based on guidance provided by FMCSA. The agency did not include the core curriculum guidance in the NCRME proposal. Several commenters called for a public review and comment period on the guidance.

The guidance is now posted on the National Registry website and in public docket FMCSA-2008-0363 at the Federal eRulemaking Portal. All comments were to be submitted on or before June 16, 2011.
 

Texting Ban Goes Into effect involving drivers of commercial motor vehicle (CMV)
 

The Final Rule that prohibits texting while operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) went into effect (October 27, 2010).

The penalties for breaking the new rule are tough. Under CSA2010, texting while driving carries a 10-point severity weight rating and counts against both the carrier and the driver.

Drivers who violate the rule face fines of up to $2,750, while their employers may be fined up to $11,000.
 
Texting behind the wheel is also a disqualifying offense for drivers.
The prohibition against texting is detailed in a new Subpart H to 49 CFR Part 392. This section explicitly states that drivers shall not engage in texting while driving and motor carriers shall not allow or require their drivers to engage in texting while driving.
To help clarify the new rule, two key definitions were added to 49 CFR 390.5.

Here's a look at the two-part definition of texting:

1. Texting means manually enter¬ing alphanumeric text, or read¬ing text from an electronic de¬vice. This action includes, but is not limited to, short message ser¬vice, e-mailing, instant messag¬ing, a command or request to access a World Wide Web page, or engaging in any other form of electronic text retrieval or elec¬tronic text entry for present or future communication.

2. Texting does not include:
• Reading, selecting, or en¬tering a telephone num¬ber, an extension num¬ber, or voicemail retrieval codes and commands into an electronic device for the purpose of initiating or receiving a phone call or using voice commands to initiate or receive a tele¬phone call;
• Inputting, selecting or reading information on a global positioning system or navigation system; or
• Using a device capable of performing multiple func¬tions (e.g. fleet manage¬ment systems, dispatch¬ing devices, smart phones, citizens band radios, music players, etc.) for a purpose that is not otherwise pro-hibited in part 392.
To further clarify, FMCSA added the following definition of electronic device: Electronic device includes, but is not limited to, a cellular telephone; personal digital assistant; pager; computer; or any other device used to input, write, send, receive, or read text.
If they haven’t already, carriers are encouraged to review the new rules with their drivers as soon as possible. This is also a good time to review your driver safety policy to be sure that the section on distracted driving/cell phone use mirrors the DOT’s texting ban.
In addition to the top CSA2010 severity weight and hefty fines, texting while driving is a disqualifying offense for repeat offenders. A driver who is convicted of violating the texting ban twice in a three-year period is disqualified for 60 days. Three or more violations in a three-year period, and the driver is benched for 120 days.


 

New DOT Rules Go Into Effect - October 1, 2010

On August 16, 2010, the Department of Transportation (DOT) published a final rule intended to create consistency with many, but not all, of the requirements of the Department of Health and Human Services; and on September 27, 2010, DOT published an interim final rule about use of the new Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Form (CCF) and about how laboratories are to report confirmed positive drug/drug metabolite quantitations to the Medical Review Officer.

DOT is pleased to announce that its website and a variety of DOT's documents have been updated to reflect these changes. You can find the one(s) you want by clicking on the item(s) below:

•Employer Handbook
•Employee Handbook
•Urine Specimen Collection Guidelines
•August 16, 2010 Final Rule
•MRO Notice
•5-Panel Notice
•Employer Policies Notice
•September 27, 2010 Interim Final Rule;
•IFR Information Notice
49 CFR Part 40.pdf
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HHS GUIDELINES EFFECTIVE DATE CHANGED TO OCT. 2, 2010

On April 30, 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a Final Rule changing the effective date of the Revisions to the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (Mandatory Guidelines) from May 1, 2010, to October 1, 2010. The Mandatory Guidelines establish the scientific and technical guidelines for Federal workplace drug testing programs and establish standards for certification of laboratories engaged in drug testing for Federal agencies.
As stated in the Federal Register (75 FR 22809), without this change of effective date for the Mandatory Guidelines, laboratories certified under the Mandatory Guidelines would be required to maintain a dual system for testing using the revised Mandatory Guidelines, and testing for Department of Transportation (DOT) regulated entities covered by the current Mandatory Guidelines, until DOT rules are issued. Further, the National Laboratory Certification Program would be required to certify laboratories utilizing different sets of requirements. The new effective date of October 1, 2010 will allow time for related training in Federal and federally-regulated workplace drug testing programs and will be consistent with the beginning of the new Fiscal Year for Federal agencies.
The purpose of the HHS Final Rule is to notify participants in Federal and federally-regulated workplace drug testing programs as soon as possible that they will not be expected to implement the revisions to the Mandatory Guidelines on May 1, 2010, so that they do not unnecessarily expend resources to comply on May 1, or risk compliance problems by prematurely implementing new provisions.
The HHS decision to change the effective date of the Mandatory Guidelines should enable DOT to issue its rulemaking in time to meet the October 1, 2010 date.

http://workplace.samhsa.gov/DrugTesting/pdf/specimen_collection_handbook_2010_100908.pdf
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DOT DELAYS USE OF UPDATED ALCOHOL TESTING FORM TO JAN. 1, 2011

The Department of Transportation published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) proposing to extend the date for mandatory use of the recently updated Alcohol Testing Form (ATF) to January 1, 2011. On February 25, 2010, the Department published a final rule revising the ATF. The mandatory use date for the new form is August 1, 2010. After publishing the February 25 revisions, DOT learned that vendors and users of the ATF will not be able to deplete their current supply of ATFs by August. Therefore, they propose only to extend the date for mandatory use.
To download the new alcohol form: http://datia.org/eNews/2010/alcohol_form.pdf