Pre-employment drug test
Failed a pre-employment DOT drug test? Here's what to do next
Short answer
A verified positive pre-employment DOT drug test is a DOT violation, just like a failed random test. You can't perform safety-sensitive work for any DOT employer until you complete the return-to-duty process with a DOT-qualified SAP, and if you hold a CDL the violation is recorded in the FMCSA Clearinghouse. The employer must give you a list of SAPs even though you're an applicant.
Is a positive result automatically a violation?
No. After the lab reports a positive, a medical review officer (MRO) contacts you and decides whether it's a verified positive, for example after reviewing a legitimate prescription. A verified positive, or a refusal to test (which includes adulterating or substituting a specimen), is a violation. If you think the result is wrong, tell the MRO right away. You have 72 hours from the MRO's notification to ask for a test of the split specimen.
What to do now
- Stay out of safety-sensitive work. Don't drive a commercial vehicle or do another DOT safety-sensitive job for any employer until you finish the return-to-duty process.
- Ask for the SAP list. The employer must give applicants and new employees who have a violation a list of SAPs, and can't charge you for it.
- Choose a DOT-qualified SAP. Ask for the full price and what it includes. See what a SAP evaluation costs.
- If you hold a CDL, register and designate your SAP. See how to designate a SAP.
- Complete the SAP process. Evaluation, education or treatment, follow-up evaluation, return-to-duty test. See the steps in order.
- Expect the employer to decide. A DOT employer decides whether to hire you for a safety-sensitive job, and it orders your return-to-duty test. Nothing in DOT's rules requires an employer to hire you or hold the job. If you don't have an employer yet, Clayton refers you to a certified third-party administrator (C/TPA), either a local one or a national provider that uses local labs, who can arrange the test.
Will it follow me to the next job?
If you hold a CDL, yes. Employers hiring CDL drivers check the Clearinghouse, with your consent, before putting you in a safety-sensitive job. The violation stays on your record for five years from the date it was determined, or until you complete your follow-up testing plan, whichever is later. Once you have a negative return-to-duty test result you're no longer prohibited, but the record remains until then.
Working with Clayton in San Antonio
Clayton Sponhaltz, LCDC, NCAC I, is a DOT-qualified SAP in Stone Oak, San Antonio. He meets clients in person or on live video, and helps CDL drivers designate him as their SAP in the Clearinghouse. The full process is one flat $420. Call (210) 846-1819 or request a call below.