Nicole’s Notes – Drug Testing Compliance Reminders

We had a wonderful “Best Three Days in Trucking” NASTC Conference last week! Thank you to all who were able to join us in Nashville, it was a pleasure getting to spend a few days with all of you! Everyone that was not able to join us, please plan to join us next year October 23rd, 24th and 25th! In this post I would like to remind everyone of a couple of the most important compliance issues:

Random Testing

It is vital that you complete ALL random testing in the quarter that it is selected, the regulations require it. For some reason, people tend to not put as much emphasis on getting their alcohol random testing completed. Please know that the random alcohol testing carries the same weight as the random drug testing, one is not any more important than the other. They are equally important. If you have a driver chosen for random and that driver is no longer employed by your company, that random requirement doesn’t just go away. In this situation, you would need to use an alternate driver. If we have not chosen an alternate driver for you automatically, it is your responsibility to contact NASTC and request that we send you an alternate selection.

FMCSA Clearinghouse Queries

Please make sure your company is registered in the FMCSA Clearinghouse and that you are conducting the required queries on your drivers and doing the required reporting of violations. The Clearinghouse started at the beginning of 2020 and the FMCSA has given quite a grace period for everyone to get this going. They are now taking action when auditing companies that are not performing their proper Clearinghouse duties. NASTC does not do the Clearinghouse employer duties for you, but we will gladly help you in knowing how and what to do.

REMINDERS:

  • Check your training certification if you are a collector or an STT, you must be trained every five years
  • If you are a collector, you may not collect for a spouse, ex-spouse or relative
  • Make sure any person at your company that supervises a driver has completed the Reasonable Suspicion Training for Supervisors

Please always call NASTC with any questions you may have. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!