The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing to amend its drug-testing requirements for pilots and others in safety-sensitive transportation jobs to include oral fluid testing in addition to urine testing. “This will give employers a choice that will help combat employee cheating on urine drug tests and provide a more economical, less intrusive means of achieving the safety goals of the program,” said the DOT.
“The advantage of every oral fluid collection is that it will be directly observed, as opposed to most urine collections, which are unobserved,” said the DOT. “While directly observed urine specimen collections have long been the most effective method for preventing individuals from cheating on their drug tests by substituting or adulterating their specimens, directly observed urine collection may only be done in certain circumstances due to employee privacy concerns. Unlike directly observed urine collections, an oral fluid collection is much less intrusive on the tested employee’s privacy.”
While the DOT conceded it does not have data on how much cheating is occurring, it said “the problem exists and poses a direct threat to transportation safety.” The proposal also includes other provisions to update the regulation and to harmonize it with new mandatory guidelines for federal workplace drug testing programs. Comments must be submitted by March 30.