Following a series of Federal Register notices published in late 2022, new 2023 guidelines for Random Drug Testing were established by Department of Transportation (DOT) agencies ranging from the FMSCA to the FRA.
In this article, we’ll explore which DOT agencies have been impacted by newly established random testing rates and highlight the required percentages for both random drug and random alcohol testing rates in 2023.
How Changes to DOT Testing Rates Are Determined
Each DOT agency makes adjustments to its random drug and random alcohol testing rates based on the reported test positive rates within its industry in the previous year or based on collected data from prior years. As just one example, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) typically keeps testing rates consistent as long as the previous year’s drug testing positive rate remains below 1.00% and the alcohol testing positive rate remains below 0.50%. Of course, each DOT agency develops its own evaluative process to determine when it’s appropriate to implement a testing percentage increase or decrease, using positive testing rates as just one significant data point among other considerations. These standards are also impacted by requirements outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations Title 14, sections 120.109(b) and 120.217(c).
DOT 2023 Rates – Agency by Agency
Although Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requirements have not changed since 2020, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has adopted new standards for 2023 and now requires the same random testing rate as the FMSCA: 50% for random drug testing and 10% for random alcohol testing. For more information on how to properly conduct drug and alcohol queries for DOT drivers, read our related article.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) have both updated their requirements for 2023, with each requiring a 25% testing rate for random drug testing. The PHMSA does not require random alcohol testing, but the FAA does require a random alcohol testing rate of 10%.
Of all of the DOT agency requirements regarding random testing, the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) policies remain the most nuanced. Under 2023 standards, Covered Service (HOS) and Maintenance of Way (MOW) employees must be randomly tested at a rate of 25% for random drug testing and 10% for random alcohol testing. Among Mechanical (MECH) employees, the standards remain more stringent, requiring a 50% random testing rate for drug testing and a 25% rate for alcohol testing. Required random testing rates for FRA MECH employees were made effective on March 4th, 2022, and will remain in place at the same rates throughout 2023.
At the end of 2023, MECH testing rates are likely to be re-evaluated for a possible percentage reduction in both drug and alcohol random testing categories. Since the FRA only instituted random drug and alcohol testing for MECH employees in 2022, the agency has not yet collected two full years of Management Information System (MIS) data, which is required to update random testing rates among any employee group. As a result, random testing rates among MECH employees will remain the same through December 31, 2023 with likely rate changes pending in 2024.
Adoption of Testing Rates & Protocols
For each DOT agency we’ve highlighted, the updated random testing percentages represent minimum rates required for workplace safety and DOT legal compliance. Railroad contractors and railroads are permitted to complete FRA random drug and alcohol testing at higher rates.
Additionally, employers and C/TPAs are permitted to combine covered employees into one random selection testing pool if the employer is subject to multiple DOT agency testing requirements.
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