DOT oral fluid drug testing in a holding pattern

Washington — Although oral fluid drug testing has been federally approved for truck drivers and workers in safety-sensitive transportation positions, its use as an alternative to urine testing has been delayed and remains in flux.

A Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration official on July 29 told Safety+Health that the agency is considering applications filed this spring by three laboratories for certification in oral fluid testing, a benchmark for implementing employer testing.

A recent Department of Transportation final rule approved oral fluid drug testing as an alternative for workers regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration.

For employers to enact oral fluid testing, however, HHS must certify at least two laboratories.

“There are currently no laboratories certified to conduct oral fluid drug testing,” the SAMHSA official said, adding that the certification process is ongoing and typically takes three to six months from the receipt of application.

In the final rule, DOT says oral fluid testing “will give employers a choice that will help combat employee cheating on urine drug tests and provide a less intrusive means of achieving the safety goals” of the department’s drug and alcohol testing program.

On June 21, DOT published a direct final rule that would have revised the 2023 rule by:

• Providing temporary qualification requirements for mock oral fluid monitors.
• Providing for consistent privacy requirements by identifying which individuals may be present during an oral fluid collection.
• Clarifying how collectors are to specify that a sufficient volume of oral fluid was collected.

The rule was set to go into effect Aug. 5, but the agency withdrew it on Aug. 1, citing adverse comment from stakeholders.

One such piece of feedback, from the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association, states that “delaying collector training until after laboratories are HHS-certified will cause small businesses that have met the train-the-trainer course requirements to suffer the loss of training revenue.”

The association continues, “It also will create a shortage of properly trained and qualified oral fluid collectors from being able to collect specimens for possibly months after the first laboratories are certified.”

FMCSA now will consider comments through a parallel proposed rule – also published June 21.

“The proposed rule invited comment on the substance of these rule changes,” the agency says. “DOT will respond to comments as part of any final action taken on the parallel proposed rule.”