Drug Clearinghouse Looming, Owner-operators Express Frustration, Lack of Awareness

December 10, 2019 - Overdrive Online | Written by James Jaillet

Many owner-operators, though technically not required to do anything before the looming Jan. 6 deadline, are in some ways unaware of, and unprepared for, the new CDL Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse rule that takes effect in less than a month.

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FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse

Query Plan Details

Query plans will be available for purchase on the Clearinghouse website in fall 2019.

FMCSA has released the query plan options for employers of CDL drivers. The query plan information is in the attached factsheet, it is also available for download on the Clearinghouse website. Query plans will be available for purchase fall 2019.

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Expanded Clearinghouse FAQs from FMCSA

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has enhanced and expanded the FAQs on the Clearinghouse website. Visit the new FMCSA FAQs page to access more than 50 questions and answers. You can search or filter to find specific information.

Some topics include General Information, Registration, Security, Queries and Consent Requests, Reporting Violations, Return-to-Duty, and Cross-Border Transportation.

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FAQs

DOT Publishes Drug Testing Rule

Today, April 23, 2019, the Department of Transportation (DOT) published a final rule that makes minor technical corrections to the OST, FAA, FTA, and PHMSA regulations governing drug testing for safety-sensitive employees to ensure consistency with the recent amendments made to the Department of Transportation’s regulation, “Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs,” which added requirements to test for oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone to DOT-regulated drug testing programs. The changes to the Department’s regulation make it necessary to refer to these substances, as well as the previously covered drugs morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, and codeine, by the more inclusive term “opioids,” rather than “opiates.” This rule amends the term in the FAA, FTA, and PHMSA regulations to ensure that all DOT drug testing rules are consistent with one another and with the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs. In addition, this rule makes a conforming amendment to include the term “opioids” in the wording of the Department’s annual information collection requirement and clarifications to section 40.26 and Appendix H regarding the requirement for employers to follow the Department’s instructions for the annual information collection.

To learn more about this final rule, visit www.transportation.gov.