In the amendment, OSHA proposed that
employers be prohibited from requiring employees to submit to drug testing fol- lowing the report of a workplace injury (in- cluding post-accident testing). Post-acci- dent testing is a key component of effective drug-free workplaces. Employees who test positive for marijuana use have 55 percent more industrial accidents and 85 percent more injuries, according to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS). In a recent study conducted by DATIA and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), data showed that employers with high workers’ compensation incidence claims aſter accidents decreased by more than half (57 percent) aſter implementing a drug testing program. DATIA has sent all of its members the
full comments in the Oct. 23 edition of DATIA eNews. Please let us know if you have any questions regarding those.
Reminder from DOT to MROs Regarding Verifying an Employee’s Prescription As a reminder, when a donor provides a prescription for a non-negative laboratory test result, as the MRO, you are responsible for determining whether the medical expla- nation is legitimate. In your role as the “gatekeeper” in this
process, you must review and take all reasonable and necessary steps to verify the authenticity of all medical records the employee provides (see 49 CFR Section 40.141(b)). For example: • Call the pharmacy to verify the legiti- macy of the prescription; and
• Call the donor’s treating physician if you have suspicions or questions In accordance with 49 CFR Sections
40.137(c), 40.139(b), and 40.145(e), the donor has the burden of proof that a legitimate medical explanation exists. Te donor must present information meeting this burden at the time of the verification
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interview. You may extend the time avail- able for the donor to present the informa- tion for up to 5 days. If the donor fails to provide information you have requested (e.g., does not produce a prescription or does not facilitate the treating physician’s contact with you), you may proceed in making your determination. Any time you make the determination to
verify a laboratory positive result negative because of a legitimate medical explanation, you may have a responsibility to raise fitness- for-duty considerations in accordance with 49 CFR Section 40.137(e)(4) and 40.327. In raising these concerns, you are only authorized to provide information learned through your verification interview with the employee’s employer, a physician or health care provider responsible for determining the employee’s medical qualifications under a DOT agency’s safety regulations, a SAP evaluating the employee as part of the return to duty process, a DOT agency, or with the National Transportation Safety Board dur- ing the course of an accident investigation. DOT sent this reminder on Sept. 30,
2014. ❚ datia focus 39
The Nov. 4 election showed relatively small amounts of support for pro- marijuana initiatives.
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