DATIA Submits Its Comments on DOT Part 40 Proposed Rewrite

Proposes Workable Alternatives to PIE, Reporting of Test Results

 

The Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA) has submitted extensive comments to the docket relative to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation's (DOT) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to revise its drug and alcohol testing program regulations for 49 CFR Part 40. DATIA's comments on behalf of its constituency are based upon considerable member input, including two extensive surveys of the membership, comments collected at the association's annual conference and during the three listening sessions recently hosted by DOT, and attended by DATIA staff.

 

DATIA's comments cover fifteen topics, including Public Interest Exclusions, reporting of test results, definition of employer, laboratory reporting, training, testing processes, adulterants and dilutes, testing forms and materials, electronic records and signatures, service agent assurance, blind specimens, alcohol testing and conflicts of interest. The topics were identified by DATIA's membership in polls, in individual testimony provided at the DOT listening sessions, various comments submitted to the association following publication of the NPRM, and by DATIA staff.

 

DOT's proposal relative to Public Interest Exclusions (PIE) drew considerable attention. DOT proposes a new section to create PIEs to sanction a service agent for non-compliance with Part 40 regulations, rather than sanctioning the employer using a non-compliant service agent.

 

DATIA supports holding all service agents accountable for their action, however the association questions the proper and fair means to accomplish this goal. In its comments, the association made several recommendations that would clearly define a PIE trigger, along with several workable alternative sanctioning measures.

 

Another area that DATIA members provided considerable comment concerned reporting of test results. DOT proposes to require MROs to report all test results to the "actual employer" and not to a consortium or third party administrator. DATIA members believe it is crucial for consortia and third party administrators to receive and report test results for numerous reasons, such as efficiency, familiarity with regulations, employer reliance on the outsourced services provided by consortia and third party administrators, and DOT's latent reliance on the industry's positive effect on their compliance efforts.

 

DATIA comments that the most significant element needed in the new regulations is a differential for small employers, defined as having fewer than 50 employees. The differential would recognize that small entities are more negatively impacted by many elements of the regulation from a cost viewpoint. Small entities also have different situations that general regulations do not sufficiently address. Parts of the NPRM that demand a differential include the statistical reporting requirement, test result reporting through the service agent, and the definition of an employer for small entities that do not have the resources for a full-time Designated Employer Representative.

 

DATIA believes that the goal of the new regulations is to provide for drug- and alcohol-free transportation workplaces. The suggestions made by DATIA would make the DOT proposal most workable and cost effective, therefore encouraging more compliance with the rules by regulated employers, of which the majority are small businesses.

 

To read the complete text of DATIA's response to DOT, click here. To download in a PDF format, click here. To view other comments submitted to the docket, link to the docket search page and type in docket number 6578 to review comments for the Proposed Rule change for 49 CFR Part 40. /Staff/Laura/datia/pdf_resources/dot49cfr40nprm.pdf